Madness
by Kd Zeal
Summary: A runaway girl is taken by Soundwave. The result is not quite what you'd expect. Semi-AU/mirrorverse, no romance. Epilogue, the end.
1. Chapter 1

A new fic! Yes, I know. This is my first Transformers fic, so please... don't hurt me! Transformers isn't mine, as much as I love Soundwave.

I was told that this classifies as AU or Mirrorverse. Possible also crack. The 07 movie happened. And now, on to the story!

Oh, right. /this/ means telepathy. Should be clear, but just in case.

* * *

Looking at the stars, Rhianna tried to identify the constellations. Orion was easy enough, she never really had problems finding that one. The three stars that made his belt were low on the horizon, almost hidden by the trees that surrounded her. Turning a near one hundred and eighty degrees, Rhianna looked for the Big Dipper. She knew it was almost exactly opposite Orion, nice and high in the sky. From the Dipper, she progressed on to Polaris, bright and clear so far from the light pollution of any towns. That basically exhausted her knowledge of constellations, and Rhianna sighed.

A shooting star moved across the sky, the motion catching the girl's eye. She watched as it seemed to approach her, wondering if she should maybe get out of the way. Not that it would work, of course, she couldn't outrun a star, or would that be a meteor if it was falling to earth.

The light stopped suddenly, hovering for maybe a second before plummeting to earth. It was near enough that Rhianna felt the shock wave, the tremor of the ground and a rush of wind. She considered for a moment, then picked up her backpack and began jogging towards the landing site.

Rhianna was good at running, or at least decent, even in the dark of the forest. Which is to say, she didn't trip or fall, simply crashed through the underbrush with enough noise to alert the whole forest of her movements. After a good half hour of trying to run, Rhianna stopped, as suddenly as she could. Something about the woods seemed to have changed. She wasn't sure what, wasn't even sure why she was feeling this way, but somehow she knew it was time to stop running.

Approaching where she thought the meteor had landed, Rhianna now moved slowly, almost cautiously. After only a few walking steps, a form emerged from the forest as if to meet her. Starlight glinted off dark matte metal, and red eyes blazed as a feline figure padded into view.

Rhianna fought down the momentary instinctual panic. Running would do no good, would only encourage the creature to give chase. Instead, as the cat stalked closer, she held out her hand, speaking quietly.

"Hello, kitty. Aren't you a gorgeous thing," Rhianna murmured. She could see it better now, see that it appeared to be a robot for all it's feline form. "Remind me of those robots that were tearing up Mission City a while back… 'Course, that's probably more just 'cause you're a robot too. Whatcha doin' all the way out here, I wonder?" Rhianna continued to babble.

The robotic cat circled the human, a mechanical rumbling sounding all the while. After a few moments, during which Rhianna's speech was ignored, the panther sniffed delicately at her outstretched hand. Satisfied with the results, the cat bumped its head into Rhianna's hand until she stroked it.

Rhianna smiled at the actions of the cat, kneeling to pet it better. "You don't seem so bad. But I still bet you would have run me down right quick if I'd tried running. Big strong panther like you, I wouldn't have had any chance at all." The rumbling increased in volume slightly, the panther seeming to agree with her.

After enjoying the petting for a few moments, the black panther walked away. Before the darkness swallowed it completely, it stopped and looked back. Seeing that Rhianna was making no moves at all, the panther returned and circled around her, butting at her back lightly before walking away again. It repeated the actions a couple more times before Rhianna caught on and began to follow. The cat, seeming to realize Rhianna's difficulty navigating in the dark forest, dropped back again, walking beside her. Rhianna put a hand on the back of her strange companion, wondering where it was leading her.

The stars shone into a small clearing of downed trees. Smoke rose thinly from charred plants, the fire conquered by the still-green wood. Rhianna could easily see the huge silver robot standing in the clearing, red eyes matching those of her panther companion. She didn't immediately noticed the other robot, a little smaller than the silver one, dark with shinning highlights even in the meager starlight.

The cat gave a satisfied sounding mrow, leaping away from Rhianna to curl about the feet of the dark robot. Rhianna barely noticed, too busy looking at the larger robot. She had seen him on TV, in all his silver and gold glory, during the reports of the 'thing' at Mission City. According to the news casts, he had been the leader of the opposition. But then, according to the news casts, he was dead.

The tall robot spoke first, an idle menace in his words, despite his curiosity. "Why are you here, human?"

Rhianna shrugged slightly. "The cat brought me here."

"You seemed to be walking on your own," he said, somewhat incredulous.

"There wasn't any reason not to follow him," Rhianna answered. She didn't seem to be afraid, but even she wasn't sure if that was because she didn't believe what was happening, or if she just didn't care.

"There was no reason _to_ follow her," the the obvious answer came as the robot casually formed a gun from his arm. The sound that accompanied the transformation was almost beautiful, but nothing could hide the clear threat he was offering.

She didn't care, Rhianna decided, looking into the gun aimed at her. "Oops… her, then. Sorry about that, cat," she answered, not quite able to look away from the barrel.

The robot looked around his gun to see Rhianna, trying to determine the cause of her unusual reaction. "Why are you not attempting to save you measly life, girl?"

_Because I don't care_, Rhianna's first thought was unvoiced. "Like I could stop you?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious. She wished she knew his name, that would have made her question more effective.

"That did not stop others of your kind from pleading with me," he answered with pleasure as he recalled the pitiful voices of the worms who had imprisoned him.

Rhianna didn't answer, trapped but unwilling to voice her thoughts. She toyed with the idea of dying, half-heartedly trying to bring herself to care. Death would be quick, she was sure, from the size of the barrel still facing her. There were things undone that she might want to do, but the possible might-be future didn't seem worth the trouble of pleading for life.

The silence dragged on, and finally Rhianna realized that all three of the mechanical being were waiting for her to answer. "I'm not them," she said, words falling into the night like lead.

Movement followed her comment, the cat leaving the dark mech's feet to stand by Rhianna again. The tall robot looked away from the human, meeting the optics of the silent robot. Some information seemed to pass between them, and the gun transformed back into an arm. Before Rhianna could determine what was happening, the silent mech moved, a collection of highlights in the night resolving into a gentle hand that scooped her up. There was the same noise that had accompanied the earlier transformations, and something seemed to fly into the dark robot. A moment later, the hand tipped Rhianna into a small holding space, apparently the same place the earlier thing had flown into.

At first there was only darkness, the faint sway of motion and whir of mechanics. Rhianna realized she was being taken some place, she couldn't even begin to guess where. Fear came then, fear of mis-treatment, of the unknown. She knew nothing about the people who now had her. The TV had said they were robots, most likely from North Korea. 'ICBM' had been mentioned, with the robots as a payload, a kind of quick attack system. Some of the people at school had insisted they were 'mecha' with human pilots, like in the 'anime' they watched. On the other hand, the one who had spoken to her, apparently the leader, had called her human as though he were not. But he had also correct her assumption of the panther's gender, and why would robots have gender? It didn't make sense.

/We are mechanical lifeforms from Cybertron/ a deep voice intoned in Rhianna's head.

Looking around, she saw only darkness, no-one around to have spoken. She knew the words had not been spoken, but she wasn't quite ready to face that idea yet. "W-who's there?" she asked, her voice sounding weak and scared even to her.

/I am Soundwave/ the voice answered, calm and emotionless. Before Rhianna could ask her next question, Soundwave answered it. /You are within me, with my casseticons./ There was a brief pause, and then, /I am going to transform. You are not in danger./

With that bare warning, the sound came again, things shifting around Rhianna. It felt rather like being on an elevator, or maybe a fair ride, as the compartment dropped while Soundwave was still moving. It was over in a few seconds, and Rhianna found herself sitting in the back of a vehicle. She was cramped, now on the floor with a bank of media equipment beside her. It was a news van, or at least she thought it was.

Even though Soundwave had finished transforming, the noise continued, one of the large cameras changing it's shape. /You have met Ravage/ Soundwave commented. The mental voice, Rhianna decided, wasn't intrusive. It was just… spooky as hell. The camera finished transforming into the panther, who gave a mrow and tried to scrunch in next to Rhianna on the floor.

"Ravage? Is that your name, then?" Rhianna directed her words to the large cat.

Yawning, Ravage exposed sharp teeth. /He already told you that/ a distinctly feminine voice answered in the same telepathic manner Soundwave used.

Rhianna yelped and jerked back, bashing her head into the wall behind her. "You too?" she asked, fixing the mechanical panther with a frightened look. Soundwave was one thing, he didn't seem real to her, she could just pass him off as some weird voice in her head. But hearing Ravage, that was different. She could see Ravage, touch her, relate to her as a living being.

/Did you harm yourself?/ Soundwave's mental voice asked dispassionately.

/Of course me too, why not?/ Ravage's message overlapped Soundwave's.

/SLOW DOWN!/ Rhianna screamed, panicking at the sound of not one, but two voices echoing over each other in her head.

There was silence for a moment, only the sound of tires on pavement to break the stillness. Then Ravage began rumbling and butt her head against Rhianna lightly. Rhianna curled into herself and around Ravage, the robot forcing herself into Rhianna's embrace. A few moments later, Soundwave gently contacted Rhianna.

/Your species does not deal well with telepathic communication. There has been much you have dealt with tonight, and I believe this is your race's recharge cycle. Rest, you will not be harmed./

"M'sorry f'yelling…" Rhianna whispered, more to Ravage then to Soundwave. The panther simply continued rumbling, her version of a purr. Rhianna felt exhaustion catch up to her, and soon she slept.

* * *

So, there we go. Please review, even if you just want to flame. Yes, I did make Soundwave a news van, it was literally ALL I could think of that would have anything the cassettes could be.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Transformers. And I forgot to say last chapter, this fic owes its life to Iris Magic's Angel, for being the first fic that made me noticed Soundwave. ...Which is also why Ravage is a femme in this fic.

And thank you for all the reviews! I was floored and dancing.

* * *

Rhianna woke to electric lighting. There was the same sense of swaying motion that she had felt earlier, and she easily concluded she was still in Soundwave. The mech had apparently changed again, back into the bipedal mode he was first in. The compartment that made the back of the van was smaller in this form, though the open space was more concentrated, not interrupted by the chairs and media equipment. Ravage was gone, she couldn't guess where.

The windows of the van made the 'front' of the compartment and let in the light. They were a smoked gray, hiding her while allowing her to see out. Moving cautiously, Rhianna crawled to the windows, trying to see the world outside her prison.

Soundwave was walking through metal corridors painted a restful purple color. As he walked, Rhianna could see his arms now and again. There was nothing else in the corridor, so she focused on learning more about the mech she was riding in. He was just as dark as she had thought, a deep polychromatic blue twisting into violets and greens. A burnished gold highlighted the blue in abstract patterns.

There was a sensation, almost a questioning feeling, in the back of Rhianna's mind. Taking a guess, she said, "S-soundwave?"

/You… are well?/ the contact came, carrying the first hint of emotion she had heard in it so far. A trace of concern came through, almost more felt than heard.

_Don't panic, that won't help anything…_ Rhianna thought to herself. _Shit, if he's a telepath, he can probably hear this._ "I… think so," she answered, not entirely sure what he meant.

/Do you require sustenance?/ Soundwave asked, turning down a new corridor. It looked the same as any of the others.

"Do I what?" Rhianna asked, taken by surprise. "Oh, food? No, I've got a bit in my backpack, enough for a while, at least. But, um…" She looked around again, noticing a plethora of cracks and seems in the compartment. "You, ah… might not want me eating in here."

/Agreed./ Soundwave walked through a door, into what seemed to be a bedroom. At least, it had something that looked like a bed, a large, flat metal slab. There was a desk, too, and a chair, both the same sterile metal. The window-wall opened, and Soundwave held his hand by it, waiting for Rhianna to come out.

For just a moment she hesitated. It was one thing to be inside, safely surrounded on all sides by solid walls, but now he was asking her to trust him. Trust, what a thing. They say it is given, not earned, and yet she would have to give it here, trust him not to hurt her. Not that he had hurt her, of course, or even showed any inclination that he would. The most Soundwave had done was not interfere when the other mech was pointing his gun at her.

Sitting here wouldn't get her anywhere, though, and so Rhianna double checked her back-pack was still over her shoulder and then climbed onto the waiting hand. Soundwave was as gentle in this as he had been in other aspects, lightly holding Rhianna and transferring her to the desk.

"Ravage was surprised to learn the natives of this planet were her size," Soundwave said as Rhianna sat. She lost her balance, sitting faster than she had intended and looking at the dark blue mech in surprise. His voice was beautiful, flat and emotionless with mechanic harmonics echoing under it, and his mental voice flowing over it all, adding brief trails of emotion to his words. The effect was multi-layered, a blending of sound and thought into an experience that was awe inspiring.

Slowly lowering the backpack into her lap, Rhianna tried to interpret Soundwave's short comment. "Is… that why you brought me here?"

"Affirmative."

"Because a robot panther was surprised that humans are her size." It wasn't possible for Rhianna to keep the flatness from her tone, nor did she really try. She didn't know how to process the statement. Her life was spared and irrevocably changed… because a robot panther was curious. Not even curious, just surprised. Rhianna supposed she should be hurt, or insulted, or probably terrified, but the same ennui from last night, the same ennui that had kept her at her uncle's house for so long, still swallowed her.

"You do not fear for your life?"

Rhianna gave a one-shoulder-shrug, digging in her backpack for a can of spaghetti-o's, her can-opener, and tin spoon. "It doesn't do any good. Death comes when it comes, and even if I tried fighting it… well, wouldn't do any good. Especially not against you or that other guy."

Soundwave seemed to think her words over, red eyes flickering slightly. "If it had been a man with a gun, and not Lord Megatron?"

"I can't out run a bullet, no matter who holds the gun," Rhianna responded, opening the can. Soundwave didn't answer, simply watched her eat. After a time, the blue mech left, moving silently despite his size.

Finishing her cold meal, Rhianna wondered what to do with the can and where to wash her spoon. She decided to just lick the spoon as clean as she could, and ended up leaving the can where it was. The desk, almost as large as the bed-slab against the wall, was bare. Standing by the edge with the chair, Rhianna looked down, trying to decide how badly she wanted down. It was only maybe seven feet from the desk to the chair, but she wasn't sure she wanted to try that.

"Need some help, babe?" a cocky male voice asked. A small robot came into view around the chair. He was a light blue-purple, the color one would call 'grape', blending well into the general purple of the room and the corridors.

"W-who are you?" Rhianna said fearfully.

"Name's Rumble," the small mech said, looking at the human girl almost fifteen feet above him. "Don't worry, I'm one of the Boss's casseticons, he mentioned us last night, remember?"

"Oh." Rhianna remembered the word when Rumble said it, but it conveyed no information. "So, um… how would you help me get down?"

Rumble shook his head. "Not me. I usually jump down, but Frenzy's been saying how 'squishy' your race is. I'd just ask Buzzsaw to get ya down."

"Whoa, whoa… there's you, and Ravage, and… Frenzy… and Buzzsaw? Just… how many of you guys are there?" Rhianna asked, backing up a step. Everybody so far was acting like it was perfectly normal for her to be here, almost like she should already know all of this, and forgetting that she didn't.

"Just five," Rumble answered cheerily. "Me and Frenzy are brothers, used to be the same 'cept for paint job, but he went and scanned a new form, now he's a boom-box. Ravage, well, you met her, and then there's Buzzsaw and Laserbeak, they're both fliers. Buzzsaw's gold, Laserbeak's red and black. Now do you want help down from there or not, babe?"

Scanned a new form, what did that mean? Figuring she could ask on the ground, and tired of shouting to converse, Rhianna nodded. "Yes, please. And my name's Rhianna, not 'babe'!"

"Whatever ya say, babe," Rumble agreed in a tone that sounded like if he could, he would have winked at her.

Before Rhianna could further scold the machine, there was a screech behind her. Something swooped down and caught her under her arms without giving her time to react. Rhianna screamed before good sense caught up with her and she realized this was just the 'help' promised by Rumble. She was neatly released a few feet from the purple robot, who was managing to smirk despite a relatively immobile and alien face.

Rhianna glared at Rumble for a moment, then turned to look for Buzzsaw. The flier landed a little ways from Rumble, looking at the human and giving off an air of hurt. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. You're Buzzsaw, then?" Odd, the gold bird didn't look anything like a buzz saw. She wasn't sure if he was supposed to be a bird or a pteradon, either.

"Stupid squishy, always repeating the obvious," a new voice said, lighter and more disgruntled then Rumble's. Buzzsaw's beak hadn't moved, so Rhianna assumed the new voice belonged to yet another new mech. "Over here, on the re-charge booth," the voice came again. Rhianna looked at the bed and found a bright silver and very spiky head looking at her. The head pulled back, and then a spindly form launched from the bed to the ground.

"Bro, you do know that look don't suit ya, right?" Rumble asked, going over to meet the shorter mech. If Rumble was about human-hight, say six feet, then his 'bro' couldn't have been more than five feet tall.

Frenzy shoved Rumble ineffectually. "Slag off, I had to blend in. I was all on my own, stupid glitch."

Buzzsaw gave a screech, and Frenzy drooped a little, as though he'd been told off. Rhianna couldn't help but laugh, the brotherly antics serving to soothe her despite Frenzy's bad temper.

"So… that would mean it's only Laserbeak I haven't met," Rhianna commented, looking about.

Rumble, a sturdy arm around Frenzy, nodded. "He's out spyin' on the Autobots, so it'll be a bit before ya get to see him. Even after he's back, Lord Megatron'll want his report, and that could take all day. So it looks like it's just you and us, doll."

"Oh joy," Rhianna muttered. She wished Ravage had shown up, at least then there would be someone she felt half comfortable around. Buzzsaw gave another screech, and Rhianna shrugged a little, sitting on the floor. "Well, fine. Works for me. You get to answer my questions. Now… where am I?"

It was Rumble who answered, apparently the only one of the three with both the ability and the inclination to speak to her. "Decepticon HQ, of course," he gave a wonderfully non-informative answer. Rhianna gave him a hard look to let him know the evasion had not gone unnoticed, but she let it drop.

"Right, what is 'Decepticon', then?" Rhianna guessed it was the name of one of the robot sides. The 'Autobots' were probably the other side, and if she remembered her news reports correctly, well… 'Lord' Megatron seemed to be the one causing damage. He had certainly been ready enough to shoot her last night.

Rumble laughed, but Frenzy just scowled, surprisingly blue optics fixed on the ground. "Well, we are, for starters," the purple mech said. "So's the Boss, and everyone else here." He fell silent for a moment and glanced at Frenzy and Buzzsaw. They didn't move, but information seemed to pass, and Rhianna was reminded of Soundwave's telepathy.

"Alright, anticipatin' your next question… We're at war with the Autobots. Why's not important right now, wouldn't make much sense t'ya anyway. Why we got down here to this planet-"

"Let Soundwave tell her," Frenzy cut off, a hint of warning in his voice. "It's not your job, Rumble."

Rumble seemed discomforted, but he didn't argue his brother's comment. "So now, babe, tell us somethin' about you."

Rhianna felt a part of her emotions shut off, a normal and necessary step to allow her to talk about herself. "My name's Rhianna, even if Rumble won't use it. I'm fifteen, live with my aunt and uncle." She hesitated a moment, quickly deciding what to say. "I was out in the woods, and apparently caught Ravage's interest. That's about it." Why she was out in the woods could wait, in the same way that why the Decepticons were at war could wait.

The four beings sat in an uncomfortable silence, looking at each other, each waiting for the others to speak. In the end, it was the door that broke the stillness, a soft hiss like something from Star Trek sounding as it opened.

Rhianna looked away from Frenzy, who had most recently caught her eye, and up at the mech in the doorway. He was a bright silver, maybe three times human hight, about fifteen feet. A black visor covered where his eyes would be, but the red glow could be still be seen, diffused through the visor.

It was Frenzy who stepped forward to meet him while Rumble stood and stepped closer to Rhianna. "What are you doing here?" Frenzy asked with the same undercurrent of disgust that he spoke to the human with.

The larger mech raised his arms in the classic human gesture of peace. "Calm down there, Frenz'. I was just looking f'Soundwave, but I see he ain't in." Nodding slightly towards Rhianna, he asked, "So who's that? We pickin' up strays now?"

'The Boss said he was interested in her, what's it to ya?" Rumble asked, still unobtrusively shielding Rhianna.

_Soundwave was interested in me? Funny he neglected to tell me that…_ Rhianna mused, currently content to let the cassetticons do the talking. But there was something about the silver mech that looked… familiar.

"Hey now, I ain't gonna hurt her. How's this, I won't even tell anyone else she's here, k?" Not waiting for an answer, he waved at Rhianna, metallic mouth curved in a friendly smile. He had the most human looking face out of the mechs she had so far seen. "Hey there, I'm Jazz. Nice to meet ya."

With a slight glance at the small mechs, Rhianna returned the wave. "I'm Rhianna. Um, nice to meet you, I guess."

"There, are you happy? Now go on, Soundwave's not here. He's probably discussing Laserbeak's report with Lord Megatron right now," Frenzy said, putting a firm end to further socializing.

Jazz nodded, backing up a little. "Alright, alright, I gotcha Frenz'. I'm gone." With that, the door hissed shut, sealing the four smaller beings alone in the room again.

Rhianna closed the distance between her and Rumble in a few short steps. "Does Frenzy like anyone other than you?" she asked in a low murmur.

Buzzsaw gave a mechanical grating that seemed to be laughter, over hearing Rhianna's words easily. "He just doesn't get along with Jazz. Jazz has a… um, bad history with us Decepticons. Don't worry about it, babe."

"Don't worry about it," Rhianna echoed in annoyance. "I seem to be hearing that a lot lately."

"Then maybe you should listen," Frenzy bit out, obviously listening to the conversation. Rhianna, in a very childish move, stuck her tongue out at the mech, then turned her back on them all and sat down.

The three mechs looked at each other, needing no Internet searches to decipher the human's actions. Frenzy contacted his brothers on their comms. with the message, :Mech and Unmaker.; All cultures had a game like this, where one person chased and the others avoided. Rumble and Buzzsaw's optics lit up, and they both nodded in agreement.

Rhianna barely had time to register the clawed touch on her shoulder before Frenzy darted away, screeching a recognizable English phrase. "Tag, you're It! Catch us if you can!"

"Why you little…!" Rhianna shouted, slow in getting to her feet. She lunged after Frenzy, but the smaller mech easily evaded her. Buzzsaw was in the air, no more than ten feet off the ground, but he might as well have been on the moon. Rumble was laughing, keeping distance between himself and the designated Unmaker.

Rhianna wasn't sure how long she 'played' with the mechs. She never had any chance of catching them. Sure, she had tagged Rumble once, but when he turned and chased Buzzsaw, moving twice as fast as before, it was clear that Rumble had only let Rhianna tag him. And when Buzzsaw dodges and Rumble chased Frenzy instead the chase went all around the room. Frenzy scrambled up the bed, Rumble right behind him, and they both jumped off when they reached the foot. She barely saw when Frenzy was tagged. And of course, as soon as he was It, he made an unerring bee-line for the human girl. It was hardly even a chase, and the spindly hand was pressed against her, 'accidentally' pushing her to the ground.

This wasn't a game, this wasn't peers playing with each other. This bore more resemblance to the bully's 'nerd-baiting', the stronger and faster and more popular jocks humiliating the geeks for lack of athletic prowess. Rhianna felt tears pricking in her eyes as Frenzy danced out of reach, felt her heart clench and lungs catch as Buzzsaw angled away from her. She stumbled, legs failing her, hand hitting the floor and sending shock waves all through her arm. Breathless, she knelt in the graceless pose, trying to clear her head, to blink away her tears, above all to _not let them know_ that she was breaking. She wasn't going to let them know they had won, and she clung to that determination even as the tears began to fall from her eyes and breathless gasps turned to ragged sobs.

Rumble had just noticed that Rhianna was no longer playing, had just taken a step towards her, when the door hissed open again. Ravage jumped from Soundwave's compartment, transforming from camera to cat as she did so. As soon as she landed, she padded over to Rhianna, purring and sticking her face in the human's face. Buzzsaw landed on the floor, and Frenzy backed away from the door.

The familiar touch of the steel panther was enough to break Rhianna from her crying, though tears still ran down her face as she looked up at Soundwave. For just a moment, in the back of her mind, she felt an explosion of anger as she looked a him. Then the emotion cut off as surely as a window slamming, and she realized the rage had been his. She shivered, sure that he would now act, destroy her or beat her, or simply return her to her home, would that be lucky or not?

Ravage made her mechanical purr and rubbed her head against Rhianna's face reassuringly. Soundwave walked from the room, Rumble, Frenzy, and Buzzsaw following him. The two humanoid mechs walked slowly, with shoulders bowed, and Buzzsaw was barely in the air.

"I'm sorry, Ravage. I-I didn't mean to…" Rhianna stopped, unsure what she was apologizing for. She finally settled her mind on something, remembering how Soundwave stood in the doorway. "I didn't mean to make him mad. I didn't! I was just… I couldn't _catch_ them, Rumble let me once, but Buzzsaw was in the air so much, and Frenzy… he just… And I couldn't catch them, and I got so frustrated, but I didn't mean to cry, that wasn't any reason to cry…"

Ravage gave her muted roar again as Rhianna's fingers stilled their stroking. She wished she could speak in this form, but she wasn't yet ready to expose the one secret the cassetticons kept from the larger Decepticon forces. Rhianna stood suddenly, looking around with a slightly fearful expression on her face. Ravage followed as the girl stumbled through the room, finally stopping at a wall.

Rhianna put one hand on the wall. A faint squeak sounded as she ran her fingers over the lavender paint, slowly collapsing to her knees. Black hair fell around her face as she bowed her head. Ravage didn't know what to make of the human's actions. She was glad when the door opened again, but Rhianna tensed, frightened of what might happen.

* * *

So, who wonders why Soundwave was angry? And what's this, Jazz alive and with the 'cons? I have a reason, promise!


	3. Chapter 3

And here we find out why Soundwave was angry! And, ooh, is this a plot twist?

I don't own Transformers, still.

* * *

Rhianna turned when she heard footsteps entering the room. The door closed behind Soundwave, who was alone now. Ravage stood and then leapt across the floor to Soundwave with a mrow. The twenty-four foot mech looked down at the cat, and that momentary divergence of attention was all Rhianna needed.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you mad, whatever I did, I'm sorry," she burst out, standing fully and taking a step forward. She cringed back when Soundwave looked at her.

"You did nothing," Soundwave said calmly. The spoken words were emotionless, but the mental contact carried curiosity and concern.

Rhianna looked up, arms wrapped around her torso. "But you were angry with me…" she whispered.

The blue mech was silent for a moment, then asked, "Why do you have that impression?"

"I…in…" Rhianna brought a hand up, motioning vaguely at her head. "My mind… I felt such rage. And… I was crying over… such a little- such a little thing," she said in a broken voice.

"It was Frenzy who initiated the play. Your frustration was expected," Soundwave answered, the barest bit of confusion coloring the mental voice.

Back to hugging herself, Rhianna shook her head slightly. "But I still upset you."

Ravage countered that, her voice sounding purely through the telepathic link. /Creator wasn't angry at you, Rhianna. He was angry at my moronic brothers for treating you like that./

"He… _isn't_ angry with me?" Rhianna echoed, somehow finding Ravage's mental contact easier this time.

"I was not, and I am not, angry with you," Soundwave confirmed, crossing the room to sit at the chair by the desk. As he moved, he continued monitoring Rhianna's mental state, not wanting to frighten her further.

"But…" Sheer confusion brought words from Rhianna as she voiced questions normally unasked. "But I felt your anger… why?"

Again it was Ravage who provided the explanations. /Creator normally connects to everyone within a certain radius, and connecting to us cassetticons is almost automatic now. Since you were in the room and aren't any bigger than we are, he was connecting to you, too, until he realized that made you more afraid./

With an accusatory note, Rhianna asked, "Is that why you're only now so talkative?"

/Rumble and Frenzy are the only ones able to talk in alt form/ Ravage answered. /I, and Laserbeak and Buzzsaw as well, rely on Creator to connect us when we wish to speak./

Rhianna nodded slowly, approaching Soundwave as she did so. "That… makes sense, I suppose…"

"What else occurred while I was away?" Soundwave asked, leaning in the chair to offer his hand to Rhianna again.

"Um…" Rhianna looked at the blue hand, reaching out and lightly tracing some of the exposed tubing. "Rumble introduced himself, and had Buzzsaw help me off the table. We talked a little…" Mostly over her earlier fear, Rhianna climbed into the large hand, holding onto the thumb as Soundwave lifted her. "Oh, right! Another mech, um… Jazz, that's right. Jazz came in looking for you. Frenzy didn't seem to like him. Rumble said Jazz had a, er… 'bad history' with the Decepticons, but wouldn't tell me why. He seemed nice, though…"

"I will let Jazz tell you his history on his own. You have nothing to fear from him," Soundwave commented.

Emboldened by Soundwave's positive response to her question, Rhianna, still sitting on the mech's hand, brought up the other subject Rumble had mentioned. "I… saw on the news… And- and Rumble said too… You're fighting someone. Um, the Decepticons are, I mean, fighting the Autobots."

Soundwave carefully tipped his hand until Rhianna scrambled onto the table before folding his hands under his chin. It was impossible to read his expression with the mask covering his mouth. "We are," he allowed, face still even as he spoke. He was silent for a heartbeat, and then he nodded to himself. Ravage jumped into his lap, and from there to the table, as Soundwave prepared to explain the history of war to the human girl.

"The beginnings of the war are lost in the mists of time," Soundwave said, in a tone and style much different from his earlier words. "We have been at war since before my creation, and the causes are rarely spoken of. We have been through many Lords, and the Autobots through many Primes, while the war has raged." He was telling a story, the story of history, and Rhianna soon found herself entranced.

"Our war has been fought over philosophical differences, over the right to life and conquest and ruler ship. Central to the struggles was the Cube, the source of all life as we know it, though perhaps not the source of your lifeforms. Several of your millennia ago the Autobots held the Cube. The then and current Prime, Optimus, saw that soon we would come to possess the Allspark, and he found this intolerable." A momentary flash of sorrow and rage came through the link Rhianna had not realized was open, and then Soundwave mastered himself again.

"He threw his soldiers at Tyger Pax, knowing we would believe the Cube was there. While we fought, forced to clear the entire fortress, the Cube was elsewhere. And at that place, the Prime lost the Allspark, purposefully shooting it into the fathomless depths of space." Here Soundwave paused, eyes looking at memories the others could not see.

Putting Soundwave's story together with newscasts and their simple pretense, Rhianna felt confident enough to say, "It landed here. And you followed it."

Soundwave broke from his memories, red optics focusing again on his self-appointed charge. "Lord Megatron was first to discover this planet. He became trapped in ice, also lost to us for millenia. It was only recently that your planet was rediscovered and we knew the Cube was here. We came for it, and the Autobots came to keep it from us. In the end, for reasons I do not know, a human boy sought to end the fighting by uniting the Allspark with Lord Megatron's spark, his soul, you might call it. The boy, and the Autobots as well, seemed to believe this would destroy the Allspark, and Lord Megatron."

Rhianna nodded slightly. "The news said 'the leader of the attacking robots' was destroyed by 'the heroic actions of a civilian boy.'"

"They were wrong. How it was thought the life giver of our kind could possibly destroy us, I do not know. Lord Megatron did indeed unite with the Allspark, and he swam out of the ocean trench he was put in. He rescued the others who were dumped with him, and called others, myself included, to Earth. The Autobots have chosen to stay here, to gather the remains of their forces, and so we shall meet them."

_And what is my expected role in all this?_ Rhianna thought. Shaking the notion away, she smiled at Soundwave. She knew he had glossed over most of the details, but at least he wasn't treating her like a child, keeping her from all that might confuse her. "Do the Autobots still think that, ah, Lord Megatron is dead?" She hesitated before calling Megatron 'lord', for after all, he wasn't _her_ leader. But she was in Decepticon Headquarters, and she thought diplomacy would serve her better than pride, especially after she had stood before him at their last meeting.

"They do," Soundwave answered, returning to the short sentences he normally used. "They are aware of Decepticon activity, but think we seek revenge for our Lord's death."

Rhianna nodded slightly, trying to sort out all the information. Her reverie was broken by Ravage. /Garbage goes in the recycle chute, over there./ The cat looked at a section of wall, then back at Rhianna. /Well, I suppose you might have trouble accessing it/ the panther allowed, laughter in her voice. Delicately picking up the can in her jaws, Ravage leapt off the table and went to the section of wall she had indicated earlier. From the seamless purple expanse, a segment simply broke apart, revealing a hole. Ravage had to stand on her hind legs to reach it, dumping the can into the hole.

"Th-that reminds me," Rhianna said, blushing as she broached the subject. She didn't look at Soundwave as she spoke, keeping her gaze firmly on her hands. "Um, I'll need a place to clean my spoon, and… well, myself and my clothes, too. And, ah…"

"Waste disposal," Soundwave filled in, a line of humor in the mental voice. His audio voice was, like always, flat and dispassionate. "I am aware of these needs. Work is progressing to meet them."

Pleased that she didn't have to explain any further, Rhianna looked up and smiled. "Thank you." _Seems like they plan on me being here for a while…_

The door opened without warning, and privately Rhianna wondered if any of the robots had heard of privacy. Jazz stood on the other side, seemingly as cheerful as before. "Yo, Soundwave my mech! I saw some of your cassettes cleanin' B level, and I guessed y'might be back here."

"State your business," Soundwave answered, sounding exactly the way he always did.

Jazz came into the room and leaned against a wall, allowing the door to slide shut. "I was wonderin' if Laserbeak was back yet."

From her place on the table Rhianna noticed something very odd. Jazz was only a couple of feet taller than the table itself. When she stood up on the table, she was actually taller than the mech.

Soundwave answered in sounds that reminded Rhianna of a connecting modem, only with more growls and less high-pitched squeals. The mechanical language meshed with Soundwave's mechanical tone into something that was almost musical. His words this time lacked the usual mental accompaniment, and Rhianna wondered if that was because of the language or because she was not being included in the conversation.

Jazz responded in the same manner, his words having the same sense of fun and lightness that his English had. Watching the two mechs talk, Soundwave motionless in his chair and Jazz broadly gesturing, Rhianna realized why Jazz had seemed familiar. He had been on TV too. In fact, she was nearly certain that she had seen him attacking Lord Megatron, which would seem to indicate that Jazz was an Autobot. But here he was, in the Decepticon HQ, and Rumble had said everyone here was a Decepticon.

So lost in her thoughts was Rhianna that she didn't immediately notice when Jazz switched back to English. "So, what's with the girl, Soundwave? Lord Megatron know she's here?"

"Affirmative," Soundwave said shortly, optics optics momentarily flashing brighter.

Almost before Soundwave finished his short statement, Jazz raised his hands and started apologizing. "Whoa, sorry, man! I'm stupid, I didn't mean that. I know better'n to even think of accusin' you of somethin' like that."

"Apology… accepted," Soundwave said. Rhianna noticed the mental voice was back, thought it had been missing for his previous statement.

"So, ah, I should be goin', then, I suppose," Jazz said, sounding like he was babbling.

Soundwave stopped him with a word. "Wait." Looking at Rhianna, he sent a telepathic question, /You would feel safe with him?/

Considering that this seemed to be a private question, Rhianna tried to answer in the same manner. /Um… yes. He seems nice, and you did say…/ she trailed off, not even sure if she was being heard.

Motioning slightly at Rhianna, Soundwave suggested, "Take her with you."

Jazz seemed startled by the suggestion. "Well, sure, if she don't mind." Stepping over to the table, he could barely see over the top, but that didn't seem to bother the silver mech. "So how about it, Rhee'? Fancy spendin' some time with Jazz?"

Rhianna giggled at the friendly question and the way the mech shortened her name. Going to the edge of the table she answered, "Sure, why not?"

He didn't offer a hand, and Rhianna wasn't sure she'd fit on his anyway. Jazz's shoulders were broad and flat, mostly carpeted with densely packed tubing and wiring. Deciding that would do for a perch, Rhianna lowed herself off the table, Jazz standing still to let her climb onto him. Once she was situated, Jazz carefully stepped away from the table. Unsure on whether to say anything to Soundwave, Rhianna was silent as Jazz left the room.

"So, Rhee', I don't suppose ya know why Frenzy and the others are so busy cleanin', do ya?" Jazz asked after a few minutes.

Rhianna didn't want to get into reasons, but she didn't want to be rude and just not answer. She tried giving a non-informative answer instead. "Because they got Soundwave mad, I would assume."

"You know, most mechs would swear up and down that Soundwave isn't capable of feeling anything 'cept maybe loyalty to Lord Megatron," Jazz said with laughter in his voice.

Rhianna felt a chill at the memory of Soundwave's shared rage. "Oh, he feels. He feels," she said hollowly. Enough of that, she decided, changing the subject. "I like how you shorten my name. You make it sound pretty."

"Rhianna," Jazz said, "Is already a very pretty name. Took me a bit to figure out how to get it shorter and keep it pretty."

The girl found herself laughing again, and blushing a little. "You, sir, are a flirt," she informed her ride. Beneath her feet an engine revved, producing a sound like laughter.

"I suppose I am then, if you're sayin' it, Rhee'."

"Oh, stop it, you!" Rhianna said between giggles.

"Uh-oh, duck'n'cover, 'Screamer's comin'," Jazz ordered suddenly, going from flirt to serious in a heartbeat. Rhianna wasn't sure where _to_ 'duck and cover'. She finally settled for slipping behind Jazz's neck and hoping she wouldn't be noticed.

Carefully peering around the tubing, Rhianna saw a large mech coming around the corner. He was gray and vaguely simian, standing twice the hight of Jazz and a little taller than Soundwave, though he was still shorter than Lord Megatron. Flanking him on both sides where two other mechs, nearly identical to him, though a little shorter, one a tan and one arctic blue. Upon seeing Jazz, the leader twisted his metal face into a look of disgust. "Well looky here, if it isn't Jazz… Still happy to be part of the Decepticons, are you, _Jazz_?"

"You know I'm loyal to Lord Megatron, _Starscream_," Jazz answered, biting out the name with just as much venom.

Once again a familiarity was tickling in Rhianna's memories as she looked at Starscream. She found herself wishing she had looked up the reports of giant robot attacks more, looked at what was saved on Youtube, perhaps. Maybe then she'd know more about the beings she found herself with. Starscream… she thought he would be some kind of airplane, there had been a robot airplane at Mission City.

"Now that's not what he was asking, Jazz," the pale blue mech pointed out, leaning on the wall and effectively blocking that side of the corridor.

Jazz didn't let the larger mech phase him. "If I am _happy_ here, Skywarp, that means I can become _unhappy_. Loyalty, however, doesn't depend on _happiness_."

Starscream took a step forward, trying to trap Jazz against the wall, but the smaller mech didn't fall for it. Jazz stepped to the side of the corridor that was still unblocked, and the unnamed tan mech was doing nothing to interfere. With a slight engine growl, Starscream continued, knocking a hip into Jazz. "Loyalty can just as easily become _dis_loyalty," the gray mech hissed as Jazz stumbled. With those parting words, the three continued their way.

Jazz likewise continued on, muttering beneath his breath. Though quiet, his words were perfectly audible, "That slag-headed, pit-spawned glitch. Fragger dares to lecture me on loyalty, _he_ presumes..." After a few moments of such language, he addressed Rhianna. "Still okay up there, Rhee'?"

Shakily, Rhianna left the shelter of his neck to stand in a place that let Jazz turn his neck. "I'm fine. I had a good hold on, um… on your wires." It occurred to her just how weird and surreal her life was at the moment. "Who… I mean…" She wasn't sure what she meant.

"They're Seekers, the Decepticon air force. Starscream's their commander, and an arrogant, cowardly glitch t'boot. Skywarp'll do whatever Starscream suggests. Thundercracker's the only sane one of the bunch, and that's bein' generous," Jazz answered. "You should stay away from them, Rhee'. Starscream's never got along with Soundwave, and he's not fond of humans either." His voice shook lightly as he spoke, and his engine was revving, fans working overtime.

"He's not very fond of you, either," Rhianna commented. Looking around, she ventured her guess. "You used to be an Autobot, didn't you?"

The gentle sway of Jazz's movements hitched when he heard her question. The rhythm resumed a moment later, so quickly that Rhianna almost thought she'd imagined it. Jazz turned into a corridor, and then stopped by a door, opening it to show what seemed to be an empty storeroom. Jazz did something at the controls, then brought his hand to his shoulder and waited. Feeling a stir of trepidation, Rhianna nevertheless climbed onto the hand, having to hold tightly to avoid slipping.

When Rhianna was safely on the ground, Jazz knelt. His eyes were hidden by the visor, but his mouth was in a grim line, and when he spoke there was no playfulness in his voice. "Don't bring that up again. The others don't need to be reminded of my past any more than they are by seein' me."

"I… I'm sorry…" Rhianna stammered, nodding, terrified that she had angered one of the few friends she seemed to have here.

"How did you find out?" Jazz asked.

"You… were on TV. Somebody got a video of you… attacking… Lord Megatron," she answered, speaking in a low tone. "Rumble said you had a bad history… I just…" He had looked different then, though, but she couldn't figure out how.

Jazz relaxed as Rhianna spoke, finally putting an end to her confession. "So ya figured it out on your own. Well, I'll explain a little bit so you don't keep thinkin' on about it. I used to be a 'bot, sure enough… And yeah, I attacked Lord Megatron." A flash of shame showed on what was visible of his face, but Jazz continued on. "He killed me, near as I can tell. And then…" Anger tightened his voice in the next part, "Optimus gave my body to the humans. The mech I'd served for years, and he let others just… dump my remains." He looked up, someplace above Rhianna's head, in the same manner of Soundwave, watching his memories.

A gentle smile softened Jazz's face when he continued. "Down in the depths of the ocean, tangled in nets with the other 'cons, Lord Megatron revived us. Blackout, Brawl, even Bonecrusher and Barricade, and myself, we're all functioning because Lord Megatron returned us from the Matrix. When I awoke, with even the memories I had seen while off-line, I knew Lord Megatron didn't revive me by mistake. So I pledged to serve him as a loyal Decepticon."

Jazz sounded like a man speaking about a god, a god he had met face to face. Thinking about his story, the analogy seemed apt. Rhianna had no words in the face of such fervor and devotion, even a questions buzzed in her head. After a couple of minutes, Jazz shook his head a little. "So there ya have it, Rhee'."

"Thank-you, Jazz," Rhianna murmured, grateful for his trust.

Jazz broke out in a smile and offered his hand to the girl again. "Well, c'mon. What d'ya say we go to my room and watch a movie? Most the other 'cons aren't huge on human culture, but I think you make some great movies." He laughed and spoke in a conspiratorial tone. "Don't tell nobody, but 'Crusher's pretty fond of action flicks."

Rhianna again had to clutch at Jazz's hand as he lifted her to his shoulder. "Yeah. Yeah, a movie would be nice. Something I don't have to think about." She had an awful lot to think about, after all, and she wasn't sure where to start.

* * *

So, who expected that? Megatron, able to return lost soldiers from the Matrix... And if I totally slagged up the terms, sorry...


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Transformers. Mostly a transition chapter here, though a bit of stuff happens.

* * *

Jazz's room was a lot like Soundwave's, though the furniture was smaller to fit the smaller mech. Somehow Jazz had gotten a big-screen TV and hooked it up in such a manner that it actually worked. The TV was across from the bed, and Jazz let Rhianna off on the bed before he put in the movie. They watched the entire Pirates of the Carribean trilogy with the volume at a ludicrous level, and it all distracted Rhianna from thinking very neatly. When the trilogy was complete, Jazz took Rhianna back to Soundwave, happily arguing about the series as they went.

When they reached Soundwave's room, Rhianna was surprised to find a small area in the corner had been walled off and roofed over. Jazz put her down and left, the door hissing shut behind him, and Rhianna was left looking up at Soundwave. "Ah… I'm back?" Rhianna offered into the silence.

Rumble came around Soundwave's leg and slowly approached Rhianna. "Hey babe, I'm… ah, I'msorryaboutearlier," he said all at once.

/I, too/ a mental voice said, most likely Buzzsaw.

Frenzy was last, and it was clear he was apologizing only because he was forced to. "Sorry about making you cry, squishy," he spat out, still hiding behind Soundwave.

"I, ah…" Rhianna wasn't quite sure what to say, not expecting the cassettes to actually apologize, or even pretend to. "It's… okay, guys." She gave a weak smile.

That seemed to be enough for them. Soundwave sat at his desk, which now had what looked like paper sticking over the edge. Frenzy retreated to the bed, or the recharge booth as he called it. The sound of a transformation came, and soft music began to play. Rumble and Buzzsaw were apparently talking, though only half the conversation was actually spoken, while Ravage simply lay on the floor watching everyone.

Taking advantage of being unobserved, Rhianna went over to the walled off area. As she suspected, it held human 'waste disposal' facilities. It took the girl a moment or two to figure out how to work the facilities, but as she slipped out a little later, she felt much better.

/Satisfactory?/ Ravage asked with all the superiority and tact that only a feline could pull off.

More confident in her ability to use this 'linkage', Rhianna answered, /Yep!/ The cat answered with a gentle chuckle, but was silent aside from that.

For the first time since coming to this place – she still didn't know where she was – Rhianna had to choose what to do. Unlike when she was on the desk debating whether to jump, this was a choice of who to spend her time with. Rhianna felt like a kid on a play ground on the first day of school. Suddenly feeling unsure of herself, Rhianna went over and sat next to Ravage.

/You can't make friends if you hang around the same people all day/ Ravage observed.

Speaking in a low tone, Rhianna answered, "I already spent the day with Jazz."

/Ah, yes. And how did that go?/

_He scared me. I thought I'd pissed him off. But then he explained he was just nervous, and he was nice after that, and not mad. _"Pretty well, aside from Starscream trying to cause trouble in the hallway."

/Were you hurt?/ Ravage asked, concerned.

Rhianna shook her head, laying against the warm metal of Ravage's side. "Nah, I don't think he even saw me. Jazz told me to hide before Starscream could see us."

There was satisfaction in Ravage's voice when she responded, /Smart mech. So what did you do all day?/

"Watched movies. Hung out. Just… you know, relaxed." Tired of answering all the question, Rhianna asked one of her own. "How about you, what were you doing?"

Ravage rolled to her side, letting Rhianna follow her down. /Most of the morning was spent with Creator and Lord Megatron discussing strategy. Laserbeak should be in sometime tonight or early morning, so you might be alone a bit tomorrow, or maybe Creator will take you with us. I'm not sure. Anyway, while you were with Jazz, Creator got my idiot brothers back from cleaning, and we figured how to set your facilities up./ The panther yawned delicately. /They did most of the work, of course./

Rhianna giggled, looking over to where Rumble and Buzzsaw were still talking. Rumble noticed her attention and gave a friendly wave before turning away. "Ah, Ravage? Stupid question here, but… where am I supposed to sleep?"

/We all recharge in Creator./ Ravage answered, sounding confused.

Thinking about the tight steel space, Rhianna shook her head. "I don't mean to be rude, but… I really can't sleep very well in there."

The robotic panther didn't answer for a moment, and Rhianna had the feeling she was conferring with Soundwave telepathically. In the end, Ravage said, /Then we will have to figure something out. Will it be sufficient for tonight?/

Rhianna suddenly felt that she had refused something special, something she couldn't quite put a finger on. As though her words were trapping her, she agreed. "Yes… it will…" She wanted to say more, to say something that would free her from this trap, but nothing came to mind.

She did spend that night within Soundwave, after watching the cassetticons vanish within the compartment. She wasn't cold, she noticed. This space within Soundwave was warm, almost comfortable. If it wasn't for the hard steel, she might almost be happy to sleep here. But it was tight, she couldn't quite stretch out fully, and anyway, it was already set.

Rhianna woke alone. A stinging sense of betrayal swept through her for being simply left. It faded a moment later as she woke more fully. She was on the table again, her backpack next to her.

Breakfast today was cold stew. It wasn't very good cold, but it was filling, and that was the important part. Her meal now finished, Rhianna stood by the edge of the table knowing there was nothing for it today. She would have to jump down. Tossing the can over the edge, Rhianna jumped a little as the clatter shattered the silence. Hanging off the table, the chair was just in reach, and she found herself glad that Soundwave wasn't as tall as the Seekers. Hell, if she worked at it, she could probably manage to climb up on her own, too. Chair to floor was just as easy, and once down Rhianna retrieved the can and tried to remember where the recycle chute was.

She had just found it when the door opened next to her. Rhianna jumped at the noise and looked over, wondering who it was. Determining it wasn't Soundwave or a cassette, Rhianna snapped, "Doesn't anybody knock around here?" Shortly after the words slipped out, Rhianna realized she was scolding Starscream. _Shit, he's not gonna be happy…_

Starscream, for his part, looked at the tiny being in surprise. "What is a _human_ doing here?" he asked, a definite sneer in his voice.

"You'd have to ask Soundwave that," Rhianna answered, hoping Starscream would leave without causing problems.

"You see, that's the thing," Starscream answered, sounding almost pleasant. The continuing sneer on his face and in his voice ruined the effect. "I came to _Soundwave's_ room, looking for _Soundwave_, because I need to talk to _Soundwave_, and all I find is a little squishy human girl."

"Then because you need to talk to _Soundwave_, and since he's not here, I would suggest you go look for him," Rhianna countered, trying to hide her fear. _Talking to Lord Megatron, calm as you please. Talking to Starscream, now I get scared. Lovely._

"Or you could tell me where he is, who you are, and why you're here, and save us both some time," Starscream answered, definite menace in his voice.

Rhianna wasn't able to stop her backwards step. In a louder voice than normal she answered, "I don't know where he is. I'm not privy to his confidences. Maybe you should check if Laserbeak's back before bothering me!"

Starscream moved as though he were preparing to go in and grab Rhianna, but he never crossed the threshold. "That does not answer the question of why you're here, squishy," he rumbled, thirty-one feet of angered robot.

Survival instinct would normally kick in about now and send Rhianna to her knees, answering anything Starscream asked. Instead, she felt herself calming. He was so angry that anything he did to hurt her would most likely kill her outright, so there was no threat of suffering. "I'm here because Soundwave brought me here, Starscream!" Rhianna shouted. "What other reason would I have here, to look at the scenery? Get lost, you're just wasting your time. I don't know anything."

Starscream looked at the squishy in confusion. She didn't have the bold, desperate courage the Witwitcky boy had when refusing Megatron. It wasn't even clear if her angry actions could be called brave. Cycling air through his systems, Starscream took a small step back, clearing the door. "You're not worth my attention, squishy," he said as a parting jab before letting the door close.

With the Seeker gone, Rhianna dropped again to her knees, breathing heavily. The disconnected calm faded, and she felt like she had just survived a conversation with her uncle. She wished, like so many times before, that she wasn't alone, that there was somebody she could talk to. But the room was empty, Soundwave and the cassettes busy with something, she didn't know what. She wished she was still in Soundwave, safe and protected from the world.

"Enough, Rhianna," she told herself sternly. "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." It was an old saying, one her mother had said when she was young. It still comforted her, and reminded her that wishes were useless things. "Pull yourself together, and maybe when Soundwave gets back you can ask for a book or something."

Rhianna climbed back up the desk, pleased to find that she could, and hauled her backpack down. She took advantage of her time alone to change into the one spare set of clothes she had brought, washing the first set in the fairly large sink the bathroom included. All that took about half an hour. For the next hour or so, Rhianna wandered the room. After deciding it was the size of her aunt's house and jogging around the walls three times, she turned back to climbing up the desk. At least up there she'd be closer to a Decepticon's height.

Once again the door opened without warning. Rhianna, looking at the strange mech, was first annoyed it wasn't Soundwave and then glad it wasn't Starscream. This mech was black, probably a little taller than the arrogant Seeker, and far bulkier. Six blades hung from his back, looking almost like a cape. This one, too, she had seen on TV, which meant he was likely one of the ones who had died and been revived.

"Soundwave's not here," Rhianna said, aware of her visibility on the open desk.

To her surprise, the mech gave the same engine rumble that Jazz used for laughter. "I know," he answered, stepping into the room. He was big, and even stooped his blade assembly nearly scrapped the ceiling. "He sent me here for you."

"Wha- for me?" Rhianna asked. She was glad for the height of the desk as the mech looked down at her.

"Too see if you were online yet, and bring you to him if you were," he explained, offering a hand.

Rhianna didn't move, unsure of this mech and his motives. She didn't quite think he would hurt her, but he didn't have the same easy welcomeness of Jazz. "W-who are you?"

The blades fanned out slightly for a moment as the mech answered, "Blackout."

He still held his hand out, waiting for her. It was his steady patience, more than anything, that reassured Rhianna. Somehow, she didn't think he would be waiting for her if he wasn't safe. Slowly, she climbed into Blackout's hand, trying to calm her heartbeat.

Blackout didn't move Rhianna to his shoulders, or anyplace else. Metal fingers tightened around her in a secure hold, and he did make an effort to carry her in a smooth path. Even Blackout, nearly the biggest mech she had seen, didn't fill the corridors completely, though it would become tight if anyone wanted to pass him.

Rhianna could think of nothing to talk about during the trip. She was pleased to find it was a short journey, though that was largely due to the size of Blackout's stride. He soon entered a room which was far larger than any she'd seen before. Before she could get a good look, Blackout handed her to Soundwave, who popped her into his chest.

From behind the smoked glass windows, Rhianna could look out and see what was happening. Soundwave was standing silently behind and to the side of Lord Megatron, who was sitting in a chair reminiscent of a throne. Blackout, she thought, was on the other side of Lord Megatron. To the left, Jazz was looking over the shoulder of a sitting black and white mech, both looking at a display Rhianna couldn't quite make out from her position. Straight ahead, beyond Lord Megatron, large windows looked out onto water.

Sunlight filtered from above, though it was barely noticeable against the electric lighting within the base. Now and again, Rhianna thought she saw the movement of a fish darting away from the alien light. Desperately, she tried to figure out what this meant. "We're underwater?" she murmured. "How far… how far…" She couldn't panic, she mustn't panic, she couldn't imagine what would happen if the glass broke and the water came pouring in.

/The _Nemesis_ is well built/ Soundwave's mental voice soothed. /We are currently one hundred and fifty meters below the surface of the water./

The next voice to speak to her was Rumble, his easy cockiness even stronger through a mental link. /Don't worry, babe. Nemesis ain't even stressed by the water. Y'ain't in any danger./

Turning away from Soundwave's windows, Rhianna faced the metal interior. The shape was different than she remembered, with less open space. "I'm sorry, that was stupid of me. I just… didn't expect to be underwater."

/It keeps us hidden/ a new voice answered. /The Autobots won't look for us underwater, not for a long time./ A section of the wall transformed slightly, a flash of red and black showing. /I'm Laserbeak, by the way./

That explained the erosion of open space, then. Each of the cassettes must have their own place in Soundwave, with this open area serving as… well, Rhianna wasn't sure what it was used for yet. "Pleased to meet you, Laserbeak," Rhianna greeted, waving towards the now-smooth wall.

/Were you online long before Blackout came?/ Soundwave asked.

_Online, that would mean awake…_ "Ah, yeah, a while. Um, maybe an hour or two?" Rhianna offered. "It was pretty boring mostly." _No need to tell him about Starscream, don't need to bother him with my own issues._

Any answer Soundwave might have made was silenced by Jazz. "Sir," he addressed Lord Megatron, his voice easily penetrating Soundwave's interior. "You said we need to know who all responded to Optimus' signal. Security's too tight for the cassetticons to slip in, an' the 'bots would be lookin' for them anyway."

"What are you suggesting, Jazz?" Lord Megatron asked. From his voice, Rhianna guessed that Lord Megatron had no concerns about the former Autobot.

There was a definite pause before Jazz spoke again. "They won't be expectin' me, sir."

From behind Soundwave came Starscream's voice, and Rhianna stiffened. "Oh, yes, like we'll just let you return to the Autobots. You must have a glitched processor."

It was Lord Megatron who took exception to Starscream's words, standing from his throne and turning to face the Seeker. Soundwave stepped back to the wall, Blackout mirroring him, leaving their Lord with free access to Starscream. "Do you doubt me, Starscream?" the gold and silver mech snarled, stepping around his throne.

Starscream, now visible to Rhianna, had to stop himself from moving away from Lord Megatron. "My Lord, no, never! It is Jazz I doubt, his dedication to our cause!"

Rhianna, knowing Jazz's story, having seen his fervor, knew that Starscream had just said the wrong thing. "And need I remind you, Starscream, of just why he serves me now?" Lord Megatron hissed, passing Soundwave to loom over the smaller Seeker.

"I… n-no!" Starscream protested, realizing his mistake. "I mean… Forgive me, Lord Megatron. I… let old habits color my perceptions."

Lord Megatron nodded, accepting the apology. "See that it does not happen again," he said, giving Starscream one last warning before returning to his conversation with Jazz. "So Jazz, you are suggesting that you go alone and steal this information from the Autobots?"

As though the brief contest never occurred, the mechs resumed their former positions, cutting Starscream from Rhianna's view. "It's the best idea I see, sir," Jazz answered. "And if they find me, well… I think they'll be a tad hesitant to fire on me."

Lord Megatron hummed, considering Jazz's plan. Looking over at the black and white mech, he asked, "Barricade, do you agree with Jazz's opinion?"

Barricade stood as he was addressed, revealing that his head was about level with Soundwave's chest. That put him at about twenty feet tall, then, Rhianna guessed. In a voice that was practically a growl, he answered, "I agree with it, my Lord."

"However…?" Lord Megatron prompted.

"I am not happy with it, sir. The chance is high that Jazz will be detected."

"But not caught," Jazz interjected.

Barricade sent Jazz an irritated look. "But not caught," he agreed, tone even further towards a growl.

Lord Megatron considered for a moment longer, finally nodding. "We need that information. Jazz, your suggestion is approved. Make your preparations and go. Barricade, I want you to create a distraction in Boise."

Barricade nodded and left. Jazz gave a short bow, then walked over to Soundwave. "A word, if I may, Soundwave?" the shorter mech requested.

The chromatic blue mech didn't answer verbally, following Jazz into the hallways. After a few minutes, Jazz looked up, smiling brightly. "Hey, I ain't sure how long I'll be gone… I just wanted to let ya know, Rhee's welcome to use my TV and such while I'm gone, if she wants to."

Soundwave stopped and opened his chest, letting Jazz see Rhianna. The human girl wasn't expecting that and waved sheepishly when Jazz looked at her. The silver mech gave a rumbling laugh, smiling up at her. "So ya heard everything that's goin' on?"

Talking to one mech from within another was an odd experience. "Ah… Yeah, I heard," Rhianna admitted. "Y-you'll be careful, won't you?"

"'Course I will, Rhee', don't you worry 'bout me," Jazz answered. "I've been doin' this for millennia, and I gotta admit, the Ark ain't exactly unknown territory for me." Widening the grin that had never left his face, Jazz returned the conversation to his original offer. "So, ya gonna be using my stuff while I'm gone?"

"If I can," Rhianna answered, guessing this was important to him in some way. Forcing a smile, she added, "Don't worry, I'll keep it all in good condition for when you get back."

"There ya go, Rhee'. Well, I won't be keepin' ya any longer, Soundwave, I gotta be goin' anyway." With a final grin, Jazz walked away, a happy bounce in his step.

* * *

Will Jazz be okay? Will Barricade?

Why Boise? Because I kinda happen to like Boise. And if you think you know where _Nemesis_ is... hehehe


	5. Chapter 5

Big hints about a key plot point in this chapter. Hope you all like. I don't own Transformers.

* * *

It was only a couple of days before Barricade returned. Blackout had left some time ago, Rhianna wasn't sure when, and she was in Soundwave, who was on the bridge, which seemed to be his usual post. Without warning, Soundwave left the bridge, practically running down the halls.

A stab of dread broke through the link as Soundwave met Blackout in the halls. Rhianna didn't immediately notice what Blackout was carrying, Soundwave's raw horror overwhelming her. "I don't... he can't hold on much longer," Blackout said, hurrying through the hallways as Soundwave followed.

Entering a room that Rhianna recognized as a medical room, Blackout placed his burden on a berth, and that's when she realized he was holding a mech. A scrap of white was visible through the soot marring the remains of the armor, and she gasped. "B...barricade?" she whispered, not realizing she was speaking.

/Yes, now hush, Creator has to focus/ Ravage answered tensely.

Chastised, Rhianna watched silently as Soundwave and Blackout hovered over the ruined mech. She didn't know how Barricade could still be functioning, but his eyes were lit, and he would hiss or gasp as the mechs worked. She wondered about their urgency as a glowing blue fluid collected under Barricade, but Rhianna kept her silence, afraid to anger Soundwave.

"We're losing him," Blackout snarled. "Pitspawned glitching Autobot FRAGGERS..."

Soundwave put down his tools and took Barricade's hand. "Contacting Lord Megatron," he intoned emotionlessly. In the safety of his chest compartment, Rhianna and the cassettes could feel his worry. Blackout didn't pause, clamping off every line he could, trying to stop what Rhianna slowly realized was bleeding. That was when it hit her, that Barricade was dying, and the Autobots were to blame.

It was only a little time that Blackout had to work on Barricade. With a hiss, the med bay doors opened, and Lord Megatron was standing there in all his glory. Wordlessly, Soundwave and Blackout stepped away from the dying mech, a powerful wave of hope flooding the link. Rhianna watched as Lord Megatron approached Barricade, an unreadable expression on his face.

Lord Megatron placed a hand on Barricade's chest. The silver and gold mech's eyes flashed yellow, and a blue light gathered between his hand and Barricade's armor. The world went momentarily silent, and the light arced across Barricade. Missing plating and support infrastructure seemed to appear out of nowhere, even as Rhianna watched. Before her eyes, Barricade was repaired to how he had been when he'd left, simply by Lord Megatron's touch.

Barricade sat up as Lord Megatron stepped back. "Thank you, my Lord," he murmured in his harsh growl.

"Who did that?" Lord Megatron asked, an edge of tiredness lacing his words.

"Ironhide, sir," Barricade answered, standing.

Lord Megatron nodded silently to himself and then left. The three remaining mechs looked at each other, and then Blackout went to a sink and began to wash his hands. "I... thanks to you, too. That was... pit, too close. Slag.."

"Return to quarters," Soundwave answered. "You require time to recover."

"I'll go with him," Blackout said, now clean. Soundwave nodded and began cleaning himself up as they left.

Rhianna couldn't hold her silence any longer. "S-soundwave?" she asked quietly, swallowing hard.

/What?/ the contact came.

Unwilling to actually voice the questions she knew were ugly, Rhianna falteringly used the link. /I... I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't... But you were so worried, I mean, why.../ She knew she was putting things poorly.

/A comrade faced death/ Soundwave answered, somewhat impatiently confused.

"I know, I know!" Rhianna protested, looking around somewhat wildly. "That's not what I meant! I..." She could almost feel Soundwave's tamping down on his initial emotional reaction as he waited for the rest of her sentence. Rhianna finished slowly, "I thought... you were machines. That could be... turned off... or on. But..."

Understanding dawned across the link as Soundwave continued cleaning up the bay. /We can, and do, off-line for many reasons. There is also stasis lock, what you might call a coma. However, when a spark is extinguished, that person is gone, dead./

/In, ah... the Matrix, right?/ Rhianna asked silently, hoping she had the word right.

/Yes, the extinguished spark goes to the Matrix/ Soundwave agreed, carefully mopping up the blue liquid that served the mechs as blood.

Feeling more confident as Soundwave continued answering questions, Rhianna asked another. /So, um... a spark... that's... like a soul?/

There was a moment before Soundwave answered, /Yes, you would call it such, though a spark has a physical presence, unlike the human soul./

Rhianna bit at her lip, not sure how to word her next question. "So... the Allspark... Oh! All-spark, the... source of sparks. But... how... I mean..." Lord Megatron had merged with it, they said, and that seemed to be how and why he could... revive and heal like he had.

/The Allspark is the source of all life/ Soundwave answered firmly. /It is within the Allspark's nature to heal./

Rhianna wasn't sure she understood, but she was finished with questions, afraid of stepping over a line she didn't see. She watched silently as Soundwave finished cleaning, leaving when the med bay was as pristine as when he had entered.

Maybe two weeks later, Rhianna and Ravage were in Jazz's room watching a movie when the doors hissed open in the usual unexpected manner. Jazz stumbled in, looking the worse for wear with dings and scratches. Welding scars crossing his arm caught the light as he raised it to lean on the wall. He looked at the TV blankly, turning when Ravage mrowed.

Jazz smiled at Rhianna, who was looking at him frozenly. "Been enjoyin' yourself, Rhee'?" he asked, not entirely masking the pain in his voice.

Rhianna shot to her feet, his words breaking her paralysis. "I, ah, yes, but… You…"

Going over to the recharge booth, Jazz was careful with his feet so near the girl. "Ah, I'm fine. Just got sick of bein' in the med bay, so I came here."

"But you're still hurt," Rhianna protested.

"These?" Jazz asked, sitting on the bed with a smile. "Nah, self-repair'll be getting' to them soon enough. I promise, Rhee', couple more days and you'll never know I was hurt at all."

Ravage pushed against Rhianna's leg gently, in the direction of the door. Rhianna dropped a hand to Ravage's ears and caressed her slightly, understanding the message. "Well, I remember when I got back from the hospital, I just wanted to be left alone and enjoy my room."

Jazz lay down with a sound like a sigh. "Would ya mind puttin' in _Phantom of the Opera_ b'fore ya go, Rhee'? I like t'listen to the singin'…"

"No problem," Rhianna agreed, going to the DVD rack and pulling the movie out. It didn't take long to change movies, start _Phantom_ and put hers away. "Talk to you later, Jazz," Rhianna called as she left.

"Yep," Jazz agreed.

Rhianna jogged through the corridors of the _Nemesis_, trying to reach Soundwave's room before she started crying. If his room was the size of a house, the path through the hallways was a couple blocks, often with disinterested mechs walking through. It didn't take very long to reach her destination. Once inside, she went straight for the nest of cleaning cloths that served as her bed, laying down and looking up at the purple ceiling

Rumble was purple too, and nicely unobtrusive as he stood at her head looking down at her. Right up until he opened his mouth, that is. "'Sup, babe? You don't look so good."

Before answering, Rhianna reached with her mind, trying to feel if Soundwave was around and had linked her. He wasn't, as it transpired, so she would have to rely on words. "Jazz got back," she answered, not sure how to get her point across.

Rumble's optics flickered a little, the Cybertronian equivalent of a blink. "Ah, he got outta Med bay, then?"

"You knew?" Rhianna asked, sitting up and turning to face him.

"Well, I knew he was in med bay, didn't know when he'd get out…" Rumble answered, missing the point of Rhianna's question.

"I was _worried_ about him, would it have killed you to tell me he was back?" Rhianna snapped. In the middle of the room, Ravage lifted her head.

Rumble backed up a step and glared at Rhianna. "I didn't know you was worried, now did I?" he answered defensively.

"What… you didn't know… Of course I was worried, why wouldn't I have been?" the human said.

"'Cause you barely know him, you barely know us, but I thought even you knew we're the bad guys," Rumble snarled, eyes flashing a brighter red.

Rhianna drooped, hanging her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't get mad over little things."

Rumble looked at the human, surprised by her sudden retreat. "Hey now, that's not what I meant," he said in a quiet tone. "You have every right to get mad."

"No I don't," Rhianna said, speaking into crossed arms.

"Everyone does," Rumble insisted. The mech was placed in the odd position of defending Rhianna's right to get mad with him. Unfortunately, that required he admit he was wrong. "Hey, if the Boss got hurt and nobody told me, I'd be pretty steamed. And if I thought he was still out in danger when he was perfectly safe in Med bay… Well, of course y'got angry, babe."

"But I shouldn't have," Rhianna repeated.

Rumble sighed, out of ideas. Aside from his mistake the first day, this was the first time he had seen Rhianna be anything other than upbeat and cheerful. He would have been sure she had a case of terminal optimism if it wasn't for her odd acceptance of death. And, well, every now and again she would do something odd, like flinching from sudden motion, or apologizing for something completely not her fault. Maybe that was what the Boss meant when he called her 'broken'.

* * *

And there's the warriors, back safely. Poor Barricade, I actually do like him.

Please leave a review on your way out!


	6. Chapter 6

Transformers aren't mine. If y'happen to own a copy of the Transforms 07 movie score, I'd suggest playing The Allspark, or possibly Decepticons, at around the time Megatron starts talking to Rhianna. Rather adds to the mood. And looky, the plot!

* * *

A couple of days later, Soundwave walked in on Rhianna, Ravage and Rumble playing tag. The two mechs were careful to go slow enough that the human could catch them, and Rhianna was laughing. Soundwave indulged in silent observation until Rumble noticed him and stopped running. Rhianna wasn't fast enough to react and ended up slamming into Rumble, and they both went down in a tangle of metal and flesh.

Digging herself out of the mess, Rhianna had to stop and stare as she heard something unfamiliar across the mental link. Standing motionless and silent, Soundwave was laughing. The joy flooded over her, and soon Rhianna found herself joining Soundwave in his laughter, Rumble and Ravage contributing a moment later.

It took the four a moment to calm down, and even when the laughter ended Rhianna continued smiling. "Yo, Boss. Whacha doin' back so soon?" Rumble asked.

/Yeah, we thought you'd be a few more hours/ Ravage agreed, yawning.

"Lord Megatron wishes to speak with Rhianna," Soundwave explained, mental voice still bright with humor.

"L-lord Megatron? With me? Am I in trouble?" Rhianna asked, fear replacing her good mood as she assumed the worst as usual.

"Negative," /he is merely curious/ Soundwave answered, kneeling and reaching a hand down. In his usual manner, he waited for Rhianna to accept the aid into his chest. The compartment was bigger than before, and Rhianna guessed she was the only one inside at the moment. /You fear him now?/ the question came as they walked.

Rhianna was used to these questions. Soundwave was always asking if or why she was afraid. /I… don't want to be hurt/ she answered. /It's a very common desire in humans, the desire to avoid pain/ she added. A portion of her annoyance bled through. She was tired of the questions.

/I did not mean to intrude/ Soundwave apologized, entering a door. By now, Rhianna was only a little surprised that Soundwave had given no warning before entering Lord Megatron's quarters.

The gold and silver mech looked up from his work, then started cleaning his desk when he saw who had walked in. "Soundwave," he acknowledged.

"Lord Megatron," Soundwave answered, equally short. With no further words, Rhianna was retrieved and carefully ferried to the desk. She wasn't surprised when Soundwave left, but she couldn't avoid the spike of fear.

The Lord hunched a little in his seat, lowering his head to be more on Rhianna's plane. Unsure of the expected protocol, Rhianna remained silent, though memories of this mech threating her and healing Barricade swam through her mind. Lord Megatron spoke first, an amused sarcasm in his gravely voice. "Have you gone mute, girl?"

Rhianna jumped, then bowed slightly. "No, sir… I'm sorry, I was just-"

"If you had been this afraid," Lord Megatron interrupted, "At our first meeting, we would not be having a second."

Frowning in confusion, the human asked, "Do you… mean I shouldn't fear you?"

"Fearing me, and being afraid of me, are two different things," the mech said gently. "Fear me, by all means, but being afraid helps no-one." He watched confusion replace fear on Rhianna's face. "How have you found your time here?"

"I've… Well, I've enjoyed it, mostly, sir," Rhianna answered.

Red eyes regarded her for a moment, and Rhianna couldn't help shivering as she received Lord Megatron's undivided attention. And then he stood, taller than Jazz would be even if the silver mech were on the table. "I want to show you something," Lord Megatron said, and he offered his hand.

He stood there with statue-like patience as Rhianna gazed at his hand. It was a little thinner than Soundwave's, with fingers as long as she was tall. She touched it slowly, feeling the same warmth all the Decepticons had. Glancing at Lord Megatron's face, she saw no impatience on the demonic visage, only a kind of anticipating curiosity. And then she stepped into his palm, holding to a finger that curled up to protect her.

Rhianna stood in Lord Megatron's hand as he left the room. She tried not to think about how far off the ground she was, trusting Lord Megatron not to drop her. He walked with unhurried confidence, filling the hallways completely, the utter Lord of any he met.

He took her to a part of the ship she hadn't seen before. The paint here was blue, a soft and restful color. Stopping in front of a door, Lord Megatron used his free hand to open it, the first time Rhianna had seen that needed.

"Primus and Unicron were brothers," Lord Megatron said as he entered a hall, door closing on its own behind him. Showing Rhianna a statute of a stately mech, Lord Megatron continued speaking. "Primus was the first Prime of the Autobots." Turning, he showed her another statue. This mech looked crueler than Primus, and Rhianna wasn't surprised when she was told, "Unicron was the first Lord of the Decepticons." The hall was dimly lit, with lighting carefully placed to draw attention to the figures of Primus and Unicron.

"They were the first children of the Allspark, and for that reason only Prime or Lord could use the Allspark to create life. Primus wanted to create a world of peace, where knowledgeable mechs made life a paradise for all. Unicron was not so foolish, knowing that there would always be those who desired power, and who would only respect a greater power." Lord Megatron walked with measured steps down the long hallway, incisions on the walls resolving into pictures as he passed, and reverting to meaningless channels when he was gone.

"Unsurprisingly, these differences of opinion lead to arguments and then to battles and ultimately to war. War continued, and both sides forgot the power of the Allspark, seeing it only as something to posses, to use. With such views, it was inevitable that the Allspark was lost. Perhaps it was even by the Will of the Allspark that the Cube was flung into space. If that was so, it was surely intended that I follow. My entombment in the ice was required for me to be found by your kind, and if I were not found, still trapped, I would not have spent seven decades able to hear the Voice of the Allspark and unable to use it. And if I had never listened to the Allspark…"

Lord Megatron lifted Rhianna to eye level and gave a terrifying smile. Putting her on the ground, he stepped onto a low pedestal. Light reflected from his armor and lit the whole room. "If I had never listened to the Allspark," Lord Megatron repeated, "I would never have become the Allspark."

Rhianna looked up, and up further, at the being who towered over her and claimed divinity. Seeing the red eyes shining from amidst the gleaming gold and silver armor, remembering the stories she had heard, and what she had seen, Rhianna could not find basis to refuse the claim. She found herself kneeling, right arm over her heart. "Hail Lord Megatron," she whispered, and he smiled.

The trip out was a blur. Lord Megatron carried her directly to Soundwave's room with not a word spoken to her. She swayed a little as she stepped from Lord Megatron's hand to Soundwave's desk. As the door hissed closed, Rhianna looked at Soundwave, truly noticing for the first time just how beautiful he was.

"May I sleep in you tonight?" Rhianna asked, feeling as though she were only slowly coming back to earth.

"Affirmative," Soundwave answered, and his voices led her to herself without painfully grounding her.

Despite looking right at Soundwave, it took Rhianna a couple of moments to notice that his mouth was showing. She was stuck staring, wondering what, if anything, was meant by this change. Before she could work out any answerers, a spindly hand grasped her shoulder and she heard a voice that sounded like Ravage.

"Don't you realize you're family now?" the soft voice asked.

Rhianna let the hand turn her, looking at the …person who stood behind her. It was humanoid, with clear similarities to the Decepticons. It was the same silver metal that their armor hid, the same slightly demonic face, and the same blood red optics. The optics were familiar, and Rhianna dared to ask, "R-ravage?"

The being smiled, revealing very familiar teeth. "Yeah, it's me," Ravage said. Moving delicately, Ravage motioned to the rest of the room, stepping past Rhianna as she did so. Her steps in this form were more reminiscent of a bird than of a cat.

"Sorry 'bout keepin' this all a secret," Rumble commented, looking the same as always.

The mech next to him spoke in Buzzsaw's voice. "It's just that… well, only family sees this."

Up on the recharge booth, it was Laserbeak who spoke next. "Our protoforms are… delicate." In seeming disregard of his statement, Laserbeak jumped off the booth.

"Beautiful, though," Rhianna said before she fully thought about it. They looked like lace, she thought, or one of those impossibly complex modern sculptures.

Ravage laughed, stretching a little before throwing herself off the desk at Buzzsaw. "Been a while since we used these forms," she commented as Buzzsaw tried to wrestle her off.

"I'm sor-" Rhianna began instinctively before cutting herself off. Replacing her words, she said, "I'm grateful for your trust."

"Never mind that, get her off me!" Buzzsaw complained, now laying still. Still dazed, but with a smile, Rhianna joined the cassettes in play.

* * *

Frenzy slipped into the store-room, muttering to himself. So Ravage thought the squishies were interesting, so what? So one particular specimen struck Soundwave as being 'broken', what the pit did he even mean by that? Just because she was too stupid to be afraid when Lord Megatron was aiming his gun at her... that wasn't any reason to bring her back to the _Nemesis_

and... and treat her like some slagging youngling.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid squishy..." Frenzy muttered, kicking a box. "Just... go back to where you came from..."

"So, someone sees the foolishness of bringing one of those... _things _on board," a familiar voice answered. Frenzy screeched, not realizing he had company, before looking up at the taller mech.

"G'way, Starscream. I don't want to talk to _you_." He didn't want to talk to anyone, that's why he was here, in this very remote storage room.

Starscream turned away with something like a shrug. "If you insist, Frenzy. I had just thought I could help, but if you want me to leave..."

There was a clatter of metal against metal as Frenzy scrambled to get in front of the bigger mech. "Wait wait wait!" Starscream stopped and looked down. Frenzy danced nervously from one foot to another before finally asking, "Help... how...?"

* * *

As the door to Jazz's room opened, Rhianna was surprised to find a brown-yellow mech taking up nearly all the avalible room. She paused, Rumble beside her, unable to tell if Jazz was actually in his room or not. A moment later the question was answered as the silver mech stuck his head around the brown and waved.

"So what's Bonecrusher doin' here?" Rumble asked, walking into the room.

"He wants to watch AVP with us," Jazz explained.

Rhianna looked at the rather frightening mech, then waved a little. "Sure, that'll be fun. Xenomorphs are cool."

"Oh, be serious," Jazz protested, putting the movie in. "The preds totally _own_ the xenos, and you know it."

Bonecrusher broke his silence, sitting on the recharge berth. "Then why did they take an infected corpse onto their ship?"

"Exactly, thank you, and they STILL had to use a nuke to clear out the temple," Rhianna added, waiting for Jazz to seat himself before climbing onto his lap. She'd started doing that shortly after her meeting with Lord Megatron, and with Bonecrusher around it would help minimize the chance he'd accidentally step on her.

"Even so, they spend forever training to kill those things, y'really think one is gonna give 'em any trouble?" Rumble asked idly, sitting next to Jazz.

"I do," Rhianna said, nodding. "After all, they're not expecting a xeno on their _ship_."

Jazz and Rumble shared a look, and then Jazz shrugged a little. "Okay, you win, you two. I tell you, Rum', there's just no love for the preds..."

"I am not a human alcoholic drink," Rumble muttered.

"Hush, quiet," Bonecrusher said, optics fixed on the large screen. Turning back to the movie, the three smaller beings followed his lead.

* * *

"So, I can get the Autobots wherever you need, okay, fine, great. How does that _help_ us, Starscream?" Frenzy snapped. Sure, Soundwave could only read the very top surface thoughts and emotions without instigating a physical link. But keeping his active plans out of the forefront of his mind was wearing on the small cassette, and so he avoided his Creator as much as possible. That, of course, brought its own level of stress, and all things considered, Frenzy was not having a happy month.

"Because," Starscream answered slowly, "I will have the human _with_ me." For his part, he didn't like working with the small hacker. Frenzy promised that the plans wouldn't be found out, but it was nearly impossible to trust someone who spent so much time with a telepath.

Frenzy made a sound of disbelief. "And what, you'll let yourself get slagged just for her? The Autobots won't hurt her if they see her."

Starscream smiled, "No, they won't. And they most certainly won't let her back into _danger_. And putting her someplace we could reach her would certainly be dangerous..."

"I see..." Frenzy answered, completely still for one moment. That would be the one place that Soundwave would not be able to 'rescue' that human girl from. "So... just tell me when to plant the data."

* * *

/Tell us a story, please?/ Buzzsaw requested. His voice over the link was tired, but insistent, and a moment later the rest of the cassettes had sent their agreement.

/Very well/ Soundwave agreed. /What story?/

Laserbeak answered, /Primus' Betrayal! I like that one!/

Rhianna smiled in the dark as Soundwave's affection washed over the cassettes. In the silence before the story, she pulled her thin blanket around her, and once again thanked Unicron that she had come to her senses.

/Unicron and Primus struggled endlessly for dominance over the world. This is but one of their stories/ the words came over the link, rippling in the silence. /Primus had a celebration, and all were invited, most especially his brother, Unicron. Unicron went, knowing the hidden hatred Primus held for him, and preparing accordingly./

/And what were the preparations, Creator?/ Ravage asked. Someone always asked, even when they knew the story well. It was expected.

/Unicron prepared a box, exactly Primus' size, to hold Primus safely out of the way, should it become needed. He told his children his plan, and then went to the celebration./ A simulated feeling of wariness enveloped them, Soundwave using his skill to bring the emotions to life.

It was Buzzsaw who gave the next expected prompt, /But Primus was waiting for him, wasn't he?/

/He was/ and the feelings turned to an unsurprised hurt. Gentle enough not to intrude, they were still enough to engage Rhianna in the story. /Primus attacked, as Unicron expected, and they fought. The other guests were unaware, as the brothers were in a back room, as Primus had planned it. Unicron gained the upper hand, and forced Primus into the box, and fled, wounded. And then... betrayal./

/Primus' children looked in the box/ Rumbled supplied.

/And believed they found Primus dead, for he seemed so/ Soundwave agreed. The emotions cycled through shock, hurt, and confusion, before settling on anger, a faint ghost of the real thing. /Unicron knew Primus was living, and knew as well that the children of Primus would never listen. Unicron sought to view Primus, hoping to make his brother see the foolishness of his actions, but Unicron never returned from that meeting./

/And that was when-/ Laserbeak began.

Soundwave continued his story, ignoring the interruption. /When Unicron did not return, his children knew Primus had taken him from them. A glimmer of hope was found, however, in the fact that Primus likewise never appeared after that. In time, a new Lord was chosen, and then a new Prime, and so it has continued./

/All the way... to now/ Buzzsaw sent, more tired then before.

/Indeed/ Soundwave answered, with the mental equivalent of 'tucking in' Buzzsaw. /Recharge, now./

Rhianna yawned, finding that the tragic story had left her worn out. /G'night/ she sent sleepily. A quick wave of acceptance bounced around the link as they all entered their recharge cycles.

* * *

Can anyone guess the Earth myth I (rather heavily) modified for the story Soundwave told? And any guesses about how the Autobot's will react?

As a kind of 'bonus', I uploaded "Scheming", a Frenzy/Starscream scene that just didn't fit in the main body of Madness. Hope you enjoy it!


	7. Chapter 7

And we get to see what Starscream and Frenzy were up to last chapter... Meet the Autobots, Rhianna.

Transformers are NOT mine. They are likely grateful for that...

* * *

A couple of days later Rhianna found herself sitting in Starscream's cockpit as he flew over the Nevada desert. "Remind me again why we're out here, and why Soundwave trusted you with me?" she muttered, trying to keep an eye on the ground.

"He knows I won't hurt you," the jet answered, his tone holding the same sneer he always had around her. "You're a native to this dirtball. If anyone will notice possible Autobot activities before it's obvious, it's you."

"Careful, 'Screamer, that almost sounded like a complement," Rhianna singsonged. She trusted Soundwave and Lord Megatron, and they believed Starscream wouldn't hurt her, and so she believed it too. "So, ah, is that why you're so close to the ground?"

"No, I'm flying low to stay under radar, foolish girl," Starscream snapped back. He banked without warning, flying towards a low hill. "There's something on my sensors over there, keep alert."

As Starscream passed the hill twin flashes of red and yellow rose up to meet him. Sudden weight settled on his wings, eliciting a muttered oath of "Slagging twins, get OFF me!" Rhianna screamed as the jet began rolling, the ground coming closer. "This'll hurt," he whispered. Jerking his nose up, Starscream landed on his belly.

"S-starscream?" Rhianna asked shakily.

The cockpit popped open and the flight harness unbuckled itself. "Out. I can't transform with you in me," Starscream ordered as the red Autobot stood up.

Rhianna obeyed as quickly as she could, landing on the desert sands. Her legs were too shaky to bear her and she fell to her knees. The yellow Autobot was standing now too, and from the other direction came a taller black 'bot. There was a brief whine of engines as Starscream launched into the air. Before she could even think he might be leaving her, he transformed and landed several feet from her.

"What are you doing here, Starscream?" the red mech asked.

"Not that we mind fighting you, but there's nothing out here you 'cons might want," the yellow robot added

"I don't have to explain myself to Autobots!" Starscream yelled, arming his weapon and shooting at the red one.

At the same time, the black 'bot shot. Rhianna screamed as the bolt hit Starscream, knocking him to the ground.

The human's distress distracted the three Autobots. Starscream took advantage of their lapse, jumping up and taking to the skies. "Sorry, I only fight when the odds are in my favor!" he screeched, lighting his thrusters. In only moments he was out of sight, and Rhianna was left with three Autobots.

"Hey, are you okay?" the red mech asked, kneeling and lowering his head so Rhianna didn't have to crane her neck as much.

"Stand up," Rhianna muttered, refusing to meet blue optics. It didn't feel right to have a mech treating her like that. Even the cassetticons were expected to adjust to far bigger mechs.

"What did you say?" the yellow mech asked incredulously. He didn't kneel, much to Rhianna's relief, staying at his full seventeen foot hight.

She answered him easily, motioning to the still-lowered mech. "I told your brother to stand up. I can deal with tall mechs, and you're both shorter than Soundwave anyways." He was acting in a familiar manner, and she was still in a fearless state after her brush with death.

"How did you know…" the yellow one asked, "That he was my brother?" Behind Rhianna the black mech shifted. He was taller than the other two, a little over twenty feet.

Rhianna was silent as the red mech stood. Shrugging a little, she answered, "He looks like you." It was more than that, it was the way they moved, the way they had stood together when Starscream attacked. It was the same thing she saw in the cassetticons.

"Why are you out here?" the black mech asked. His unhappy grumble reminded Rhianna of Barricade.

"Starscream brought me here," she answered. _ But I didn't follow him_, she added to herself, remembering her answers to Lord Megatron.

To her annoyance, the black mech first got to his knees and then to all fours. It turned out to be just so he could yell at her, which redeemed him a little. "Why did he bring you here?" he snapped.

"You would have to ask _him_ that, Autobot," Rhianna answered in the same manner. If he killed her, she died, but that didn't mean she had to help the 'bots, and especially not the one who had slagged Barricade so badly.

"Calm down, Ironhide," the red mech said. "We'll take her to Optimus, he'll know what to do." With the usual mechanical humming, the mech collapsed onto itself, becoming a red sports car. He opened his door as the other Autobots returned to their alt forms.

Rhianna ignored the open door, walking over to the yellow car. "I'd rather ride with you," she stated in a hopeful tone.

"I'm Sunstreaker. My brother's Sideswipe," the yellow mech said. Rhianna continued to wait, and a moment later Sunstreaker opened his door. "You're gonna have to get the sand out of me later," he warned before she entered.

Rhianna gave a faint smile. "Of course, Sunstreaker."

The Autobots moved out, leaving a dust trail a mile long. To pass the time, Rhianna questioned her new holder. "What kind of car is this form?"

"Two-thousand eight Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera," Sunstreaker answered. "It has a top speed of one hundred ninety six miles, goes from zero to sixty in under four seconds, includes an on board computer and iPod connection, heated mirrors, and starts at two-hundred twenty thousand dollars."

Rhianna whistled, glancing over at the dash. According to the speedometer, they were already hitting a hundred fifty, something she didn't think Ironhide's truck alt form was capable of. "Quite a model you got," she said. "Those are the car specs. Now… what's _your_ top speed, Sunstreaker?"

There was a moment of timelessness, of consideration and restraint. Sunstreaker's engine revved, and the speedometer jumped to the far right. "Four hundred," Sunstreaker answered pridefully, quickly outdistancing Ironhide, to Rhianna's satisfaction. Sideswipe, however, was right on his brother's tail as they raced across the desert.

After maybe an hour, the twins slowed. Rhianna could see now that they were heading for a cliff wall which rose from the desert. A bright red and blue mech was standing below the cliff, and even from a couple miles out he looked displeased.

"That's the Prime?" Rhianna asked.

"Yeah, that's Optimus," Sunstreaker answered with a hint of fear. "Looks like he's got the Witwicky's with him too."

Witwicky wasn't a Cybertronian name. "Humans?"

Sunstreaker had time to answer, "Yep." Skidding to a halt before Optimus, the yellow Lamborghini opened his passenger door and let Rhianna out, transforming once he was empty.

Optimus spared Sunstreaker a glance that clearly promised they would talk later. Looking at Rhianna, he began to crouch down, stopping as the girl's voice rang out. "Oh, Unicron, not you too! Put me on a desk if you're so worried about eye level!"

"Hey, he's only trying to, you know, be polite and stuff," a human man said. He was young, with sandy brown hair, staying in the scant shade at the foot of the cliff. An older man, maybe thirty, stood beside him.

"It's not the job of the faction leader to lower himself to make others comfortable," Rhianna answered, crossing her arms defensively.

"I am not lowering myself," Optimus remarked. "However, if that is your wish..." He returned to standing. Walking into a cave, he gave no sign that he expected to be followed, but when the men trailed after him, Rhianna did as well.

The cave led to the same manner of metal corridors that the _Nemesis_ possessed, though the Autobot's ship was painted mustard yellow. Trotting to keep up, Rhianna studied Optimus as well as she could. He was shorter than Starscream, about the same hight as Skywarp and Thundercracker, but he was bulkier than the Seekers. His armor was blue, bright and flat, with flat red paint forming stylized flames. He bore less resemblance to Primus than Lord Megatron did to Unicron.

She wasn't surprised when he took them to an office. It was missing a recharge booth, but was otherwise similar to any other room she'd seen on _Nemesis_. The desk had a ladder, and she was glad. She didn't want Optimus Prime to lift her to the desktop, and the Lamborghini brothers had vanished. Rhianna found the ladder harder to climb then Soundwave's desk.

When the humans were on the desk and Optimus behind it, the mech spoke again. "I am Optimus Prime. What is your name?"

"Rhianna," she answered, not even remembering she had a surname to omit.

"I'm Sam, Sam Witwicky, and this is my uncle, Spike," the teenager introduced, sticking his hand out.

Rhianna flinched at the sudden gesture, then took his hand in her own and smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Sam, Spike."

Optimus spoke again, taking control of the conversation. "Ironhide sent a transmission stating that Starscream brought you to the desert, then left you when he was driven off."

"That slaggin' coward," Rhianna snarled, repeating the curses she'd heard. "I hope Soundwave gives him what he deserves."

In a too-gentle voice Optimus asked, "Why were you with Starscream in the first place?"

"Because Lord Megatron thought I'd be safe," Rhianna answered. Too late, she remembered that, as far as she knew, the Autobots didn't know Lord Megatron was back. She cursed herself silently.

"Megatron!?" Sam yelped, looking around as though he expected the Lord to show up right in Optimus' office.

Spike shook his head. "Hey, no way. You said he was dead man, you shoved that Cube thing right into him."

"_You_ killed him?" Rhianna asked, staring at Sam in disbelief. He looked like nobody, she would never have looked twice at him. "You?"

Sam shivered as he nodded. "At least… I thought I did. But, if… I mean, if what you said was true, I mean, I'm not saying you're lying, just…"

This was her chance to mend her mistake, perhaps. "I… I was just repeating what Starscream told me. And, well, Soundwave didn't argue, so…"

"How long have you been with the Decepticons, Rhianna?" Optimus asked. He had noticed her earlier invocation of Unicron, when even Sam didn't know that name.

Rhianna looked up, into blue optics, and shivered. "I'm not sure, really. Maybe a couple months." She didn't think Optimus cared, not about her, but he was acting like he cared, and she was confused.

"Do you need any medical care?" he asked, still in that too-gentle voice.

"After riding a crashing Starscream out of the sky, I might, but I'm fine otherwise." Rhianna couldn't figure out where Optimus was coming from. If the Decepticons treated her badly, didn't he think she'd be more frightened, and why would she have been riding Starscream in the first place?

"Sam, would you take her to Ratchet, please?" Optimus requested.

"Sure, big guy," Sam smiled. "Ah, this way, Rhianna." He headed for the ladder, Rhianna following. "So, um… Soundwave, he's the news van, right?"

Rhianna let Sam lead her around the ship, ignoring the few mechs wandering about. They were all, she noticed, shorter than Soundwave, and he had been fairly short for a Decepticon. "I never actually saw his alt form, and was only in it once. Chromatic blue, gold highlights?"

Sam nodded, walking backwards. "Yeah, that's him. Didn't you, I mean, isn't he a little creepy?"

"Creepy?" Rhianna stopped walking and looked at Sam. Brightening, she asked, "Oh, you mean the telepathy. Yeah, that was a little creepy at first."

"What do you mean, 'at first'?" Sam said, standing still as well. "Every time I see him I get a shiver, and those cassettes of his…"

Rhianna resumed walking, hoping that Sam would take the lead again before she got them lost. "The cassetticons are pretty nice, except for Frenzy. Little glitch has some serious issues with squishies…"

"Why… are you talking like that? I mean, I hear the Autobots talking like that, well not calling us 'squishies', but 'glitch' and stuff…"

Rhianna laughed as Sam tried to make himself clear. "It's okay, Sam. I use Cybertronian slang because I've been hearing it a lot. And you have to admit, to a mech, humans are pretty squishy."

"Well, I supposed so… whoops!" Sam turned left down a corridor they had nearly passed. "Still, I mean… you're basically insulting yourself when you use that word."

Rhianna gave a small shrug. "I guess it's like how black people are allowed to call themselves 'niggers' or gay people are allowed to call themselves 'fags'. All squishy people are allowed to call themselves 'squishies'. It does seem kinda weird when you mention it."

"Here we are," Sam said quickly, changing the subject. "Ratchet's the chartreuse 'bot at the end of the hallway."

"You're not coming?"

"Ratchet, ah, he's a little protective of his med bay, trust me, just trust me, it'll be better if I stay out."

"You'd know better than I," Rhianna admitted, continuing towards Ratchet. _If he kneels, so help me, I'm gonna scream._ Looking up at the mech, she smiled nervously. "Optimus Prime wanted me to speak with you, I believe?"

Ratchet looked down with a scowl, then walked into the med bay and pointed at a berth. Rhianna was unsurprised to see the ladder coming off the edge, and quickly ascended, grateful that he was apparently treating her like any other patient. "Hold still, I have been informed that this 'tickles'," Ratchet warned.

Rhianna kept her eyes on the Autobot. She could see a faint shimmer in the air between them as Ratchet ran his scans. The feeling was the physical analogue of Soundwave's mental link, she decided. 'Tickle' wasn't the right word for it, but it was probably the best English had.

"_How_ long were you with the Decepticons?" Ratchet asked suddenly, a layer of horror in his voice.

"Maybe two… months… slag," Rhianna answered, swallowing against a suddenly dry throat as she realized the reason for his question. "I didn't think your scans would be that thorough."

Ratchet looked hard at Rhianna. "Those injuries were older than a few months."

The girl dropped her eyes and sat down, wrapping her arms around her legs. "About six months."

That meant they had been inflicted before she was in the care of the Decepticons, Ratchet realized. "Do you need to talk?" the mech asked, a sincere softness in his tone.

"Not to you. Soundwave, if anyone," Rhianna answered.

"I will tell Optimus that the Decepticons did not mistreat you, Rhianna," Ratchet promised, a more businesslike tone filling his voice. "Now, I believe Sam is hiding from me at the end of the hall. Would you please go and tell him I don't need him here for another three months?"

Rhianna looked up, putting a lock of hair behind her ear. She understood what Ratchet was not saying as well as what he was, and she offered him a small smile. "Sure, Ratchet, I'll pass that on." At the edge of the berth she debated a moment before deciding the eight foot drop wasn't worth the scolding Ratchet would likely give her. Instead, she climbed down the ladder.

Sam was indeed waiting at the end of the hallway, along with a yellow mech she didn't know. "That didn't take long," Sam commented. "Oh, this is Bumblebee, my friend, I mean my car, uh, I mean, my friend."

Rhianna waved at Bumblebee, who waved back. "Like I said, I wasn't hurt. Oh, right, Ratchet says he doesn't need you for another three months."

"Ah… he, said that, did he…" Sam muttered, putting at hand on the back of his head. "Um, I didn't think he… er, knew I was there."

Rhianna just laughed. "Soo… since you seem to be my designated watcher, where to?"

"I'm not, I mean, I didn't-"

"Sam," Rhianna said firmly, amusement fading into seriousness. He looked at her, confused by the change, and she shook her head. "Don't act innocent when you're not." He opened his mouth and she lifted a finger, stopping him. "No. Don't. I'm not going to fall for it anyways. Now…" She smiled, breaking the tension. "Where to, oh wondrous guide?"

Sam blinked a moment, adjusting to the circumstances, and then he smiled too. "Well… we were thinking, 'Bee and me, that it's been a while since you were around, you know… people." He started walking, leading the way down the hallways again. "And Captain Lennox's team is in, so we thought maybe you'd want to hang out in the rec room. We got some big screen TV's, and a karaoke machine, and game consoles… oh, just a warning though, one of the x-boxes is alive. …So's the Dew machine…"

Rhianna lite up for a moment, then frowned. "Are we talking sapient here, like the cassettes, or just some kind of drones?"

Sam finally answered, "Ah, well… drones, I guess. Ratchet says they were only half-sparked, because I was holding the Allspark when, well, when they were born. He says that shouldn't have been able to happen anyway, but he always gets too quiet to hear."

Rhianna sighed and closed her eyes. "Yeah. Only the Lord or the Prime can use the Allspark… so of course they're not… Slag, the poor things."

"Where did you hear that?" Bumblebee asked. His voice sounded wrong, too high and lacking most of the mechanical overtones of the other mechs. He chose his words carefully, and was looking at Rhianna with suspicion.

"The Decepticons told me," Rhianna answered in a challenging tone. _Lord Megatron himself told me, and he would fix those poor half-sparked mechs, too._

"Why?" Bumblebee pressed, an involuntary whine coming from his voice box.

"How should I know, Autobot? I was taken to a sanctuary, shown Primus and Unicron and all the history of the war. Seems more than you've done for you humans!" she shouted, true anger in her voice.

"Hey, don't talk to 'Bee that way!" Sam ordered, turning and taking a step towards Rhianna, forcing her to step back against the wall. "He's just trying to make sure you're safe, you have no right to yell at him!"

Rhianna froze, brown eyes opened wide, breathing heavily and looking for a way out. She didn't _want_ to apologize, she _wasn't_ sorry, but Sam was angry, he was mad at her… _'Being afraid helps no-one.' _Lord Megatron's words cut through her panic. Rhianna closed her eyes and sighed, regulating her breathing.

"Sam Witwicky, slag off," she said in measured tones. Opening her eyes, she glared at him, but her face remained smooth. "My knowledge of the war is nothing but basic history. I was told things they took for granted, things that have been kept from you. This has nothing to do with determining if I am a spy. This was solely chagrin that I knew these basics when they have not told you. So kindly stay out of things you do not know, or start learning."

Sam drew back, and Rhianna slipped away, standing in the middle of the hallway across from Bumblebee. Silence stretched on, hurt and betrayal and _fear_ and confusion thick around the three. And then Bumblebee moved, slowly walking down the hall, and Sam followed, and Rhianna trailed behind because she knew she couldn't be permitted to walk the halls freely, unchaperoned.

* * *

Let's see, notes... The lambos I made the Twins are smaller than the usual lamborghinis, but I love the look. Ratchet's fun... and now he knows that -something- isn't as expected... What will he do, any guesses?


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own Transformers. Here Rhee' meets more of the 'bot crew...

* * *

Rhianna stopped in the doorway of the rec room, not from shyness but from a Decepticon born sense of indecency. The mech she was looking for was not in that room, and the others hadn't invited her in. But Soundwave wasn't anywhere in this ship, and the rec room was a public area. With a nod to herself, Rhianna walked in, ignoring the many eyes that watched her.

There was a snack bar, something which wasn't really surprising as this room was built to human sizes. Rhianna grabbed an instant burrito, put it in for thirty seconds, took it out when the microwave beeped. Looking at the drink machines a moment, Rhianna walked toward the single Mt. Dew machine as stiffly as robots were said to move. As she approached it shivered, seams forming momentarily.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Rhianna said soothingly. With her free hand, she slowly reached toward the green paint until her hand lightly brushed the armor. Quietly, so quietly and glad there were no 'bots in range Rhianna whispered, "Lord Megatron can help you."

Sudden noise caused Rhianna to jump, and then she realized it was just the Dew, dropping a can into the pick-up. Rhianna dropped her hand and picked up the can. "Thanks."

She found a place to sit in front of the big screens, glancing at what was playing. It was just some big budget thriller, nothing that needed thought, and she bit into her burrito.

"Good?" a man asked, sitting a little ways from her. Rhianna nodded silently and the black man smiled. "Gotta say, most people are frightened when Dew goes and does his thing."

"Sam warned me," Rhianna answered absently, still looking at the man.

"Good boy. Oh, I'm Sargent Epps, and you are?"

"Rhianna. You haven't heard about me?"

Epps shrugged and glanced towards where Sam sat with Spike and another man. "Everyone in the base heard about Ironhide and the Twins picking up a girl who'd been left behind by Starscream. But I prefer to learn about a person directly."

Rhianna looked away for a moment, towards the screen. "I know this probably won't go over very well but…" She looked at him, sadness in her eyes. "You remind me of Blackout."

Epps stiffened, glared, and then closed his eyes when he saw how Rhianna flinched back from him. "I guess you don't know," he said quietly, forcing himself to be calm. "Blackout's the one who attacked SOCCENT Airbase. He killed a lot of my friends. And then we killed him in Mission City."

"He never hurt me," Rhianna said brokenly. "He seems all big and nasty, but he's quite gentle…"

"He's a killer," Epps restated. "And he should be rusting in the Laurenteen Abyss." He opened his eyes when Rhianna didn't answer, and was surprised to see her crying.

Through her tears, Rhianna spoke. "It was war. I don't even know if he realized we were people."

"Hey now, don't cry. I mean… we've all had different experiences," the sergeant said, feeling incredibly stupid.

Scrubbing her face with the back of her hand, Rhianna shook her head. "You hate the 'cons," she stated. "And you think I'm horrible for… for befriending them."

"I don't think you're horrible," Epps said honestly. "Maybe… a little misguided. I mean… I think if you knew everything…"

Rhianna smiled sadly and remained silent, taking a bite from her neglected burrito. They sat together and watched the movie. When Rhianna finished, she stood, looked towards the game TVs. "Which X-box?" she asked.

Epps glanced over and pointed. "That one, the three-sixty second from the end."

"Thanks." She took a couple of steps towards the indicated machine, then stopped. "Epps? What you think of me? I think the same of you." She was gone before he could answer.

"Rhianna Westcot," Optimus' voice came into the room. She looked up, saw him kneeling by the human-sized door. "May I speak with you?"

"In a moment, please, Prime," Rhianna answered. She didn't wait for an answer, lightly brushing the X-box. "It won't be this way forever," she murmured to it.

"Rhianna," Optimus called again.

Rhianna turned with a forced smile on her face. "Sorry, Optimus Prime. I'm coming."

When he saw she was coming, Optimus stood. Rhianna stepped out a few moments later, and Optimus turned and walked away without a word. Rhianna felt no need to break the silence, glaring at the mech's back as he lead her back to his office.

As soon as the door opened, Rhianna made for the ladder, topping the desk before the Prime was fully settled in his chair. "Did it even occur to you that I might not want my surname known, sir," Rhianna asked tightly. She had, after all, forgotten it for a reason.

Optimus ignored the question. "Your parents died when you were six. You lived with your aunt and uncle, the Jacobsons, until two months ago, at which time you apparently ran away."

_Wow, love that tact, Prime,_ Rhianna snarled in her brain._ Slag you, Starscream, I hope Lord Megatron rips your wings off._ "I did run away," Rhianna corrected. "And I was captured by Soundwave on my second night out."

Folding his hands under his chin, Optimus lowered just a little so that he could look Rhianna in the eyes. "Now Rhianna, I understand that at your age it's common to have disagreements with your caretakers. But I do believe that, had you not been captured, you would have soon regretted your actions and returned to your guardians."

"Are you… suggesting, _sir_, that I go back there?" Rhianna asked slowly, sure she had heard wrong.

"It was not a suggestion, Rhianna," Optimus said blandly.

Rhianna bowed her head, trying to stop herself from trembling. "No." She looked up at Optimus, pleased to see confusion on his face. "No. I'm not going back."

Blue optics lit to an icy color in anger, but Optimus' voice was still sickly sweet. "Rhianna, be reasonable. They are your caretakers, and they must be worried for you."

"I said I'm not-"

"You are still underage," Optimus cut her off, utterly inflexible.

Fear and impotent rage mixed within Rhianna's veins as she searched for a way, _any_ way, to keep from going 'home'. Slaggit, she'd be safer with the Autobots than under her uncle's roof. "What if Soundwave comes for me?" she asked desperately.

"I would hardly leave you without a guard," Optimus said, sounding insulted. "Unfortunately, only Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are free among those of us who can blend in a residential area."

"You plan on sending me back to my uncle… with a pair of Lamborghinis?" Rhianna asked blandly, sure she had misunderstood something.

"Exactly, I'm glad you agree," Optimus nodded as though there were no problems with his plan.

Rhianna shook her head, trying to figure out what glitch in the processors could possibly make this seem like a _good_ idea. "But, I didn't… that's so… you're…" She trailed off, looking at the self satisfied look on the Prime's face. "Very well, _sir_," Rhianna bit out, now focusing on simply getting out of the room. "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

"That is all. Sunstreaker should be outside. The Twins will take you back in the morning." At that clear dismissal, Rhianna fled the room.

Stumbling out, she barely noticed the yellow mech leaning against the wall. Rhianna turned randomly and started walking, then running, Sunstreaker following. "Stupid… stupid, stupid, STUPID," Rhianna panted, not caring who heard. "So… very…slagging... STUPID."

"If you're talking about yourself, you're lying," Sunstreaker commented. Rhianna stopped running and looked up. Sunstreaker frowned as he saw her. He might not be fond of most humans, but this one was... tolerable. And right now she looked like the Pit. Sunstreaker sighed and transformed, opening his passenger door.

Out in the desert Rhianna realized how late it was, past midnight if her guess was correct. "Prime's... sending me back," she voiced, sprawled on the sand, and looking at the stars.

"Me'n'Sides'll be there," Sunstreaker said confidently.

"Two Lamborghinis will not help my situation," Rhianna said bitterly. Sunstreaker moved but didn't say anything. Rhianna decided to explain. "I mean... hell, your alt form is a car that costs more than my house. You're not going to blend in very well."

Sunstreaker looked down, blue optics shining in the night. "Sam hasn't had problems with Bumblebee."

"And what's his alt form? I mean... Sunstreaker, I heard the pride in your voice. You went and got the best damned alt form you could find. You know your alt form is a big deal here."

Silence greeted Rhianna's statement, the mech unwilling to answer. The stars turned in the sky, and Sunstreaker finally spoke. "You're not afraid of the 'cons attacking at all," he said, almost as though it were a revelation.

Rhianna sighed and sat up. "Not unless it's 'Screamer and his seekers alone," she admitted.

More time passed, and then Sunstreaker muttered, "Slag. We're supposed to be on the road in less than five hours."

"Don't fry a circuit, I won't be able to sleep anyway," Rhianna muttered, taking that as her cue to stand.

"I still have to get you back to the base," Sunstreaker answered, transforming back into the car. Rhianna didn't argue, climbing into the Autobot and hoping that she could be alone for at least a couple of hours.

Sunstreaker drove her right into the ship and through the hallways, stopping at a human-sized door. Going in, Rhianna found one bed, the first human bed she had seen in months, and a bathroom, which bore heavy resemblance to the facilities in _Nemesis_. Rhianna crawled into the bed, and found it too soft after months of sleeping in Soundwave. Shaking now as she allowed emotion to come out, Rhianna pulled the comforter off the bed and lay on the floor. Curling into a ball, she tried to ignore the emptiness of her mind.

Banging woke Rhianna from an uneasy sleep. "Slag it all, WHAT?" she yelled, body on hyper alert.

"Optimus said to see if you were awake and make sure you got breakfast before you left," a female called through the door.

"Slagging glitch," Rhianna muttered. She opened the door and walked out, startling the girl on the other side. With a forced smile, Rhianna motioned down the hall. "Lead on then."

"I'm Mikaela," the other girl said. "Well, I know you're going back home soon, but I'm sure you'll be back here sooner or later."

With a sigh, Rhianna answered, "Look, Mikaela. Maybe you haven't heard yet, but I haven't exactly made friends here. Ask Bumblebee what I said to him, or Sergeant Epps. I don't want this... cheer. I just want to eat and get the slag out of here, and I'd skip the eating if I could." The skin around Mikaela's eyes tightened at Rhianna's words, but she only nodded.

The rec room was mostly empty this time. Rhianna took an apple, slipping it into a pocket. Grabbing a donut, she went for a Dew, the machine dropping one as soon as he was sure she was actually coming for him. Rhianna thanked the machine and took a bit of her donut, trying to figure the odds of Sunstreaker letting her eat inside him. Quickly deciding on 'not very high,' she ate the apple too. Finishing the Mountain Dew, she faced Mikaela and smiled.

"Listen," the pretty girl hissed suddenly, "When Sam got home last night he was upset. He wouldn't tell me what happened, only that you'd caused it. So you're happy to leave here, fine, I'm happy you're leaving. But don't you ever make my boyfriend upset like that again."

Rhianna knew her voice was cold and hollow as she answered. "Hopefully, I will never see him again," she agreed. Mikaela pointed at the door, and Rhianna left, climbing into the Lamborghini wordlessly.

* * *

So, how will the trip back to her house go? What will happen when they get there? Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Hey there. Just a warning, a lot of you will get very angry in this chapter. At least I rather hope you will, that was the point. The good news is, you find out where things are, and Soundwave's back!

Transformers belongs to... um, HasTek, right? Not me.

* * *

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe screamed across the empty Nevada highways. If a policeman saw them they would be out of range before the chase was well begun, and there was no place for the patrol cars to hide in the desert anyway. Rhianna fought to enjoy the speed, but she couldn't silence the countdown in her head.

Sunstreaker slowed down for a town and chuckled slightly. "Old hatchet's following us. I don't think we're supposed to know. He hasn't said anything about our speeding."

"Old hatchet?" Rhianna asked.

"Ratchet, the medic. You can't see him, he's barely in sensor range and only catching up because I had to slow down."

"Oh," she responded tonelessly. She wasn't sure if she should be touched by Ratchet's stalking or concerned.

At the next big city, the Twins slowed down again. "Do you want to get out, stretch your legs?" Sunstreaker asked at Sideswipes prodding.

Rhianna wasn't sure why she answered honestly. The only excuse she could come up with was that she lived in northern Minnesota and the _Nemesis_ was sitting on the bottom of Lake Superior. "Do you really want to chase me down?"

Sunstreaker continued through the city without stopping. On the other side, shortly before speeding up again, he asked, "It's your family that you're afraid of, isn't it?"

_'Don't you realize you're family now?'_ a soft voice asked in her memory. "They're not my family," Rhianna said to the car. "They're my relatives."

"Who is your family?" Sunstreaker asked. Rhianna didn't answer, and with a roar he unleashed his engine, speeding down the highway again.

At lunchtime they were driving through Omaha, Nebraska. There was no offer to stop and get food, and Rhianna couldn't have eaten if they had. Half an hour later they were in Des Moines merging north onto I-35. Rhianna found she was trembling and hugged herself tightly.

Two hours later, Sunstreaker stopped in front of a neat suburban house. It was white, with cheerful yellow trim. The yard was neatly landscaped, with an inviting path up to the door.

Rhianna sat and looked at the house for at least ten minutes. Sideswipe, behind his brother, gave a questioning engine rumble, and Rhianna sighed. Exiting Sunstreaker, Rhianna straightened and marched up the path.

Opening the wood door, she stayed in the doorway and called, "Aunt?"

A woman came from the living room, thin and blonde. She blinked at Rhianna suspiciously for a moment, relaxing when she saw who it was. "Oh, Rhianna. We got a call this morning from someone who said you'd been found."

Rhianna stepped into the house, almost forgot to close the door, and offered her aunt one of the forced smiles she had practiced so much. "I bet you were happy to hear that. Is uncle home?"

"No, dear, he's working. It's only two-thirty," Mrs. Jacobson said, walking back to the living room. Oprah was on, one of her make-over episodes. "Where have you been all this time, Rhianna?"

"Around," Rhianna said with a shrug. She noticed how her aunt was looking at her, in disdain for her worn clothing and so-pale skin. "Would you mind if I got cleaned up?" If she hurried, she'd be done before her uncle got back at six.

"Go ahead, dear," her aunt answered, already back Oprah.

Rhianna was surprised to find her room just as she had left it, right down to the unmade bed. She sighed and grabbed some clothing, sturdy bluejeans and a long sleeved shirt. She took a quick shower, her first in months. _Nemesis_ was fine for bathes, but nothing beat a shower. She made her bed and cleaned the room up a little as she waited for her hair to dry some.

"Rhianna! Rhianna, dear, get down here!" Mrs. Jacobson called, still in the living room. Rhianna sighed and went down stairs.

"Yeah, what is, aunt?" she asked. Her aunt was looking out the window, and Rhianna sighed.

Motioning her over, her aunt pointed at the Twins and asked, "Why are there two exotics sitting in front of our house?"

_Because I told them to stay out of the driveway,_ Rhianna thought. "What makes you think I know? Pretty sweet Lamborghinis, though."

"You know why they're there because you rode up in a car and the car didn't leave, and they're the only new cars on the block," the older woman said.

Rhianna had forgotten how perceptive her aunt could be, especially about anything that might be gossip. "They're... on loan. From an... acquaintance," Rhianna admitted. She didn't like talking about the living mechs as though they were only possessions.

"Rhianna Westcot, you had better not be lying to me. You know your uncle doesn't like liars."

There it was, the immediate accusation. Rhianna looked her aunt in the eyes and used a smooth, slightly puzzled tone. "You know I don't lie, aunt. The Lamborghinis are on indefinite loan." Mrs. Jacobson accepted the words, and Rhianna silently thanked Unicron. She sat down to watch Judge Judy while her aunt went and started on dinner.

Judge Judy ended and Survivor came on. The door opened and Mrs. Jacobson went over to meet her husband, smiling. "Guess who's back, honey?" she said, and Rhianna muffled a groan. There was more said, too quiet for the girl to catch.

Mr. Jacobson, a distinguished man in his forties, came into the living room with a scowl. "Well, the prodigal finally returns home," he said.

Rhianna stood and faced him. "Hello, uncle. How have you been?" she said carefully. She was safe for a while yet, he never did anything while it was still light.

"Well enough," he answered. "And you?"

Her aunt darted around, bringing out TV trays and dishing up food. She studiously ignored the tension in the air. Mr. Jacobson sat down in his favorite recliner, and Rhianna took her usual place on the couch. "I've been doing pretty well," she answered, picking at her food. Noodle casserole, she hated that stuff.

Her uncle ate fast, which lead to silence for most of the meal. Once the adults were finished, Mrs. Jacobson stood up and began gathering the plates. Rhianna didn't protest as her mostly full plate was removed.

"So, where have you been?" Mr. Jacobson asked.

"I don't know, for most of it. I ended up in Nevada," Rhianna answered. It didn't matter what she said, she knew. He was going to be angry no matter what her answer. Cynically, she wondered which annoyed her uncle more, the fact that she had left, or the fact she was back.

"Is that where the man was calling from?"

Looking at her uncle, Rhianna realized something. She was deeply afraid of him, but she did not fear him. That was what Lord Megatron had meant, then, the difference he had tried to teach her. "I didn't know anyone had called, but probably."

The setting sun began to stain the light golden. "Same man who 'loaned' you those cars outside?" Mr. Jacobson asked, standing and taking a step forward.

Rhianna stood as well, unwilling to simply let him trap her. "I don't know who called you, but it wouldn't surprise me." Her best guess was Prime himself.

"Awfully nice guy you met out there. Takes a young girl, keeps her safe, even 'loans' her a pair of Lamborghinis... You must have done a lot to repay him," Mr. Jacobson said, continuing his forward motion.

"What... are you... _saying_, uncle?" Rhianna asked, sidestepping away from the couch.

He smiled, a slow and predatory grin that reminded her of Starscream. "I think the Westcot's little girl has gone and made herself a _special_ friend," he said.

"Are you _glitched_?" Rhianna yelled, not even noticing the Cybertronian curse. "I would never do something like that, and with _Prime_." Honest disgust swept away her fear.

Her uncle lunged and grabbed her. "_Don't_ talk to me like that! You're lucky we even took you in, and it's time you repayed us!"

* * *

:Sunny?: Sideswipe sent over the private comms.

:I know, Sides. Already acting.:

"Lord Megatron, incoming Autobot transmission on open com channels," Soundwave said.

"Play it," Lord Megatron ordered idly. Sending anything on open channels mean the Autobots wanted to be heard, and therefore you could never trust it, but it was usually interesting.

:Ratchet, get your aft over here, that slagging glitch of an uncle is hurtin' Rhianna!: Sunstreaker's transmission played loudly through the bridge of the _Nemesis_.

"Sir," Soundwave started, a tremor of emotion in his audible voice.

"Go," Lord Megatron snapped. There was no need for Soundwave to finish, after all. "Barricade, accompany and run interference."

* * *

Rhianna curled in her bed, tears begging to fall. Her uncle turned away from her, temper sated. _Soundwave..._ "Soundwave," she moaned. He would make it better... but he wasn't here. Mr. Jacobson paused a moment and looked back, then shrugged and left.

:Do you think she'll be okay, brother?:

Sunstreaker revved his engine angrily. :If she isn't, orders or no, I'm going to kill that man.:

Sideswipe flashed his headlights in agreement. A news van turned onto the street, then transformed when he saw the Lamborghinis. The Twins gave up on stealth and transformed as well, stepping between the house and the Decepticon.

"I am here for Rhianna," Soundwave said flatly.

Sunstreaker looked at the enemy mech for a long moment, and then he nodded. "Sides, let them pass," he said, stepping out of the way. "How long until Ratchet gets here?"

"Another half hour or so," the red mech answered.

Rhianna felt the familiar brush of Soundwave's mind and sobbed, sure she was dreaming. A hand on her shoulder made her scream and flinch.

"Whoa, sis, it's only me!" Rumble protested, flinching back himself. His human sister could scream loud.

"R-rumble?" Rhianna gasped, looking at him with wide eyes.

The purple mech flashed his usual confident smile and held a hand to Rhianna. "The same. C'mon, the Boss's waitin' outside."

Rhianna stood and moved gingerly, accepting Rumble's aid. "Not a dream?" she asked, looking around.

"That's right," Rumble agreed, taking her down the stairs. From her uncle's room came Ravage's roar and two adult screams.

Soundwave was kneeling outside the front door, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe standing behind him firmly looking away. When he saw Rhianna, the emotions through the link were happiness, welcome, a tinge of horror, and a smoldering worm of anger. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe both swayed a little as Soundwave included them in the link as well.

"Soundwave," Rhianna murmured, voice cracking. He reached out, ran his hand down her back, but didn't speak. Rumble lightly tugged on Rhianna's arm, pulling her slightly to the side where Laserbeak and Buzzsaw were waiting. A moment later Frenzy and Ravage chased Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson out of the house.

Soundwave's rage flared to an inferno and then chilled, as bitingly cold as Antarctica during it's long midnight. "The woman is superfluous," he intoned. With no further prompting, Ravage turned, a gun lifting from her back. Before anyone could react, Ravage had shot Mrs. Jacobson, killing her.

"Wh-wh- what are you doing?" Mr. Jacobson choked out, trying to watch all the robots at the same time. Soundwave's frozen anger touched the man, and he fell to his knees with a moan.

It was with no gentleness that Soundwave picked up Mr. Jacobson. Red optics seemed to blaze as Soundwave answered, "Seeking reasons for your treatment of Rhianna."

Sunstreaker turned just a little, still reeling from the level of emotion the Decepticon was broadcasting. He had only felt this once before, when a cassetticon had fallen in battle and Soundwave fought to rescue him. /They're her family/ he realized, unconsciously sending his realization to everyone in the extended link.

Soundwave turned his head to look at Sunstreaker and nodded slightly before returning to his task. Thin filaments came from his free hand, held a little ways over Mr. Jacobson. "Searching," he said.

"Feel free to scream, Pit-spawned glitch," Rumble muttered, watching vindictively. With a caw, Laserbeak agreed. Rhianna, huddled under Buzzsaw's metal wing, was silent as she watched Soundwave's work.

Mr. Jacobson started yelling after only a few seconds, a sound that brought a grim smile to Rhianna's lips. Sideswipe began to move, preparing to stop the man's torture, and then he stilled as he remembered what he had seen. Even if it wasn't suicide to mess with Soundwave, that man wasn't worth saving.

Perhaps five minutes passed before Soundwave moved. With a tone of deep disgust he pronounce his sentence. "Reasons insufficient." He stood, Mr. Jacobson still in his hand, then straightened his arm. Silently, the cassetticons gathered in a circle, while Rhianna stood by Soundwave's foot. The hand opened, and her uncle fell twenty feet into the circle of angry cassetticons.

Sunstreaker looked away, suddenly freed from Soundwave's link. Into the sudden silence, he remarked, "I think we were set up, Sideswipe my brother."

"You mean with that untraced data that showed up a couple days ago?" Sideswipe asked.

Sirens wailed in the distance, drawing closer. "Yeah, the data with the time and co-ordinates of Starscream's presence in Nevada," Sunstreaker answered.

The sirens cut off suddenly as a rescue hummer unfolded into Ratchet. "What is going on here?" he asked bad-temperedly, looking from Twins to Soundwave.

Soundwave bent and offered his hand to Rhianna. As she climbed on, he said, "Autobot Medical Officer, Designation Ratchet." Rhianna now safe in his grasp, the mech stepped forward, past the dispersing circle of cassetticons. "Analysis of Rhianna's physical condition requested."

Ratchet didn't miss the significance of Soundwave's presence, and preliminary scans indicated nothing living in the house they were all gathered around. He made a mental note to question the Twins later. "Let me see her," he snapped, holding a hand out.

Rhianna looked up at Ratchet from her place on Soundwave's palm. "You'll give me back to him?" she asked, a definite note of worry in her voice.

Somewhat surprised that Soundwave was leaving it to the human to change hands, Ratchet nodded. "Don't worry, I remember what you said last time we talked. I'll let you go back to anyone you want to."

Rhianna was still shaky as she moved, and both mechs acted without thinking, bringing their hands closer until they touched with a slight metallic clang. She slipped from the dark blue hand to the chartreuse hand with no problems.

"Is she going to be okay, Ratchet?" Sunstreaker asked, drawing near to the Autobot.

Ratchet gave a low rumbling hum, then nodded. "Her physical condition is fine. A few dings, but nothing her self-repair won't fix," Ratchet announced, using the Cybertronian terms for Soundwave's benefit.

"Ratchet?" Rhianna spoke suddenly. Blue optics shifted back to her, and she looked away. "Tell Prime-" She gasped a little, then continued in a grim voice. "Tell Prime, to rust in the Pit. Also, next time he has to deal with a run away... Sometimes there's damned valid reasons for running."

"I'll do that," Ratchet promised. He looked back at Soundwave as Rhianna left his hand. "As I'm sure you're aware, her mental condition is very fragile. Luckily for her, you just happen to be a master of mental conditions."

Soundwave linked to Ratchet for a moment, letting the medic feel a flicker of his gratitude before closing off. "Understood." He turned away, and the cassetticons each flew into him.

"It's a pity you got here after Soundwave left, Ratchet," Sideswipe said, turning his back as the blue mech transformed.

"But not a pity you were too late to save the Jacobsons," Sunstreaker muttered. With a squeal of tires, Soundwave was gone, and a moment later the three Autobots left as well.

* * *

Primus, I'm glad he's dead. This was actually fun to write, mostly because I got to figure out how to properly punish the uncle... Anyway, please review, even if just to flame.


	10. Chapter 10

Lotta talk in this chapter, including more of Lord Megatron. Transformers doesn't belong to me.

* * *

Rhianna sat in the back of Soundwave, staring sightlessly. She could feel the casssetticons around her, all of them except Frenzy sending gentle feelings of welcome and relief and a very grim satisfaction. /He's dead/ she said, enough of a query in her tone that Buzzsaw answered.

/Oh yeah/ the golden bird returned.

/Nothin' left of 'im but some smears/ Rumble added gleefully.

Rhianna let her head fall back, resting in the safety that surrounded her. /I should feel guilty./

/Negative/ Soundwave answered. /Do not feel guilty for the death of an enemy./

/He was.../ Rhianna stopped, remembering her conversation with Sunstreaker. /But, they took me in when my parents died./

/And made you pay for the 'privilege' each day/ Soundwave countered. Rhianna didn't answer, and he pushed no further.

Finally feeling safe for the first time since she boarded Starscream, Rhianna soon fell asleep.

Rhianna wasn't sure what time it was when she woke up. Soundwave was still, and when she looked around she realized the compartment was empty. Looking out the windows, she saw the cassettes playing in their regular alt forms, while Soundwave was at his desk. From here, she saw he was doing paperwork, though as usual she couldn't read the sigils.

/You are recovered?/ Soundwave asked, opening his chest.

"Better, at least," Rhianna answered verbally, jumping to the desk. She managed to land on one of the papers. It slid a little and she fell to a sudden sitting position. She noticed Soundwave's convulsive gesture as he tried to catch her far too late, and smiled up at him. "That didn't work so well."

"Indeed," he agreed.

Rhianna accepted his help to the ground and turned to the cassetticons. Ravage ran over to her, and Rhianna suddenly swayed a little as memories hit her. Ravage had killed her aunt, and helped the others kill her uncle with no remorse.

/Rhianna?/ Ravage asked, sitting and looking at the human with concern.

Rhianna shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine, sorry about that." Yes, Ravage had violently killed... but she had done so to protect Rhianna.

She sat against Ravage with a pencil and paper, ostensibly trying to draw. In reality, Rhianna was happy to just sit and watch... her family. The door hissed open and she looked over with idle curiosity.

Jazz stepped just inside the room and waved leisurely at Rhianna. "Hey there, Rhee'. Glad to see ya back safe."

_He used to be a 'bot,_ Rhianna thought, looking up at the red-tinged visor. _No wonder he doesn't like to be reminded of it. _"Hey, Jazz. I'm glad to be back."

"Well, I'm sure y'jus wanna spend some time relaxin', so I'll be goin'. Just wanted t'drop by and say hello," the silver mech smiled. "Come 'round to visit when y'want." Jazz gave a nod to Soundwave, which was returned, and then he left as quickly as he'd come.

Soundwave put the papers in a stack and looked at Rhianna, thinking a moment. /Are you recovered sufficiently to tell Lord Megatron what happened?/ he asked her privately.

Rhianna stiffened slightly in surprise. /Alone?/

/Negative. I will be there as well./

Rhianna didn't answer immediately, measuring her status so that she could reply honestly. /Yeah. If you're there, yeah. I'm recovered enough./

Fifteen minutes later standing on Lord Megatron's desk again, Rhianna was on the verge of rethinking her assertion. "Report," the Lord ordered, and it was far too late to change her mind.

"We... were flying, Starscream and I. He said he had something on his sensors, and turned to get a closer look." Rhianna tried to put things as straightforward as possible, especially since Lord Megatron should already know this part. "There... was a small hill." She could see it happening as she spoke, "Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were waiting, they... ah, jumped Starscream and forced him to land."

"Waiting, you say?" Lord Megatron queried.

Rhianna shrugged a little, looking a little past his head as she thought. "I don't... Maybe they saw him, or heard him..."

Lord Megatron nodded, accepting her suggestions for the time being. "Continue," he said patiently.

"He... wanted me out. He... couldn't transform while I was in him. So I got out, and Starscream got ready to fight... Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were getting back up, they'd fallen when Starscream crashed. Um... Starscream shot... Sideswipe, I think, and then a shot came from behind. Starscream... was knocked down. I screamed, and he got up, and jumped and took off." Rhianna swallowed dryly and sought out Soundwave's presences from the link. His mind caressed hers lightly, and she relaxed a little.

"Did Starscream make any attempt to retrieve you?" Lord Megatron asked, making a few notes on a clipboard.

Rhianna thought back over events and felt something drop. "No, sir, he didn't," she answered in a low tone.

Lord Megatron looked at Soundwave and then nodded. "A coward as always," the large mech said. There was no reason to tell Rhianna of his suspicions yet. "So, you were left with... three Autobots?"

"Ah... yes sir, three, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and... um, Ironhide, it was. They asked what I was doing there, why Starscream had me. I told them to ask Starscream, and they decided to take me to the Prime." Rhianna stopped talking, gathering her memories and searching for courage to continue. She looked at the Lord a moment, listening to her intently, and she bowed her head.

"I think I made a mistake, sir. Sam was there, the, um..." Rhianna searched for a delicate way to put this, still distracted with also having to admit her mistake, if it even was a mistake.

"I know him," Lord Megatron said with a smooth malevolence in his gravely voice.

"Oh. Of course." Rhianna sighed again and then straightened. "Optimus Prime asked why I was with Starscream. I said it was because you said it was safe. Sam... They didn't know you were back. I tried to pass it off, but..."

"They were ignorant of my return," Lord Megatron agreed. The human drooped, and Soundwave warned Lord Megatron that her fear was increasing. "It is not a secret that could be kept for long."

Rhianna was shaking again. "I tried to make it seem like I was mistaken..." She looked up, but the silver and gold mech was simply looking at her, waiting for her to continue. "Sam took me to the medic after that. Ratchet pronounced me in good health and let me leave."

"You have old injuries which are not normal for a human of your age, and his scans are better than mine," Lord Megatron corrected sternly.

Rhianna paused for a moment, loath to discuss her personal issues with anyone if she did not need to. But then, her Lord was asking, and that pretty well meant she had to talk. "Forgive me, sir. He... did indeed notice them. He accepted my word that they were from before my time here, and seemed to promise he would not tell anyone about them." A nod indicated that her apology was accepted.

"Sam... took me to the rec room. On the way, he warned me... They... have a dew machine, and an x-box..." Rhianna closed her eyes. "Sam... said Ratchet called them... half-sparked. Sam... said he had been holding the... the Allspark, and... But he's human, and they're only..." A quick wave of reassurance from Soundwave, and Rhianna was able to continue, looking up again. "Bumblebee got mad when I explained what you had told me about the Allspark, that only Lord or Prime could use it, I mean." The last thing she wanted was Lord Megatron to get the idea she had let slip the fact that _he_ was the Allspark now!

Deciding that her meeting with Sergeant Epps really wasn't worth going over, Rhianna skipped forward. "I didn't really do much in the rec room, ate, but... I had just finished when the Prime called me. He..." for some reason this was important to her. "He had found out my full name, and called me where the entire room could hear!" She was still shivering, but with remembered rage rather than fear. "He... took me to his office, thank Unicron for small favors. He then... he slaggin' well covered my past for no reason, informs me he's found where my aunt and uncle live, and tells me that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe would be taking me there the next day. He refused to even think I might have valid..." Rhianna remembered suddenly that she was still on Lord Megatron's desk, and he was currently trying to get a report out of her, not a temper tantrum. "Sorry, my Lord."

Lord Megatron smiled slightly. "We all have our reasons for hating Prime," he said, amused by her outburst.

Rhianna smiled back, the looked down, blushing. "Ah, anyway... Most of the next day I spent with Sunstreaker. He drove me from somewhere in Nevada up to my uncle's house in Duluth. We... didn't really talk much. A little about Soundwave, and that I didn't want to go to the house, but that was all. Nothing really happened, even when we got there, until... sunset. He... my uncle, he was..."

"Enough," Lord Megatron stopped her. She shot him a grateful look. "Which Decepticons did you mention by name?"

"You, sir. Starscream, Soundwave, Frenzy ... and Blackout," Rhianna answered.

"When did you mention Blackout?"

_Damn, that's right, Blackout was revived too. Slag,_ Rhianna cursed. "I told Sergeant Epps than he reminded me of Blackout. He didn't know how long I'd been here, though, at least when I left he didn't."

"Blackout was going to be in the next attack anyway," Lord Megatron said, weighing options. He looked at Soundwave, and Rhianna could feel the echo of their telepathic conversation. At length, the Lord looked back at Rhianna. "You did well, youngling."

Rhianna straightened at the praise, and then bowed. "Thank you, my Lord," she said. Turning, she found Soundwave already waiting for her.

On the way back, Rhianna felt uneasy despite the glow Lord Megatron's praise brought. "Soundwave?" she asked, sitting on the floor of the compartment and looking out. The unease flicked out as the link was closed, and then back before Rhianna could start to get angry.

Soundwave turned into an empty room, and this time Rhianna recognized what he did with the controls as locking the door. "Soundwave, what's wrong?" Rhianna asked again.

"Eject," he ordered tonelessly, opening the compartment and waiting. Rhianna climbed into his hand immediately and was carried to the ground. She sat, and wasn't terribly surprised when Soundwave sat as well. He was looking at her with an unreadable expression, finally opening his battle-mask. When he spoke again, it was in his more relaxed storyteller mode.

"The Autobot Lamborghinis hinted there was a conspiracy to lure them to the desert at a pre-arranged place and time. They were there, and Starscream carried you there as well. Starscream left you, his part fulfilled. However... he does not have the skill to plant information in the Autobot database." Soundwave paused, optics flickering. "I will question Frenzy later. You have a memory I wish to see."

"Frenzy? You think he... Memory? Y-you mean..." Rhianna remembered her uncle's cries, and the satisfaction they had brought her.

"With him, I made every effort to be harsh," Soundwave answered. "I will not hurt you."

"What... memory?" She had to be crazy to even consider this.

"The attack by the Autobots. And..." he smiled, an idea occurring to him. "May I see one with the Prime, as well? If Frenzy is involved, that would be appropriate."

Rhianna didn't know what Soundwave meant by that, and she didn't ask. "What... do I have to do?"

Soundwave reached a hand down, and Rhianna got in, laying down this time. "Relax," Soundwave ordered, cupping her. As the threadlike filaments came towards her, Rhianna tried to obey.

The memory of the attack played out again, with every word playing clearly. As it ended, Rhianna felt Soundwave's satisfaction and knew he had found what he was looking for. There was a brief, reassuring touch, and then Rhianna was remembering her conversation with Optimus, with her rage and fear. It only played for a moment, and then Soundwave was retracting the wires and putting Rhianna back inside his chest compartment.

/Starscream is guilty/ Soundwave sent with absolute surety. /And Lord Megatron might very well rip his wings off as you desired. However, Starscream is needed, and so his actions will be tolerated./

/For betraying me?/ Rhianna asked carefully, silent tears sliding down her face.

/For his disobedience, and allowing the Autobots access to the information you have/ Soundwave corrected gently. He stood and left the room.

Back in Soundwave's room he only stayed long enough to drop Rhianna off and collect Frenzy. "Frenzy's in trouble," Rumble commented.

"Suspected," Rhianna said, hoping onto the chair. Rumble looked up at her and gave a faint smile, not asking for clarification.

* * *

And the plotting comes out. Next chapter, punishments served. Please leave a review!


	11. Chapter 11

Moon, this one's for you! To everyone who wanted to see the punishments... THEY ARE SERVED. You can thank Moon for kicking me into actually writing the scene with Starscream. Also, this is way late, but I nearly forgot to credit San with the primary plot point, that is, Allspark!Megatron. She tossed the bunny to me to write.

And, the plot moves forward... Transformers does not belong to me.

* * *

Frenzy knew the scheme was up. He had passively been waiting for this since the Autobots mentioned his slice job. He lay in Soundwave in his boom box form, knowing better than to even try running. Soundwave was gentle with the cassetticons, but betrayal followed by running would push even the stoic mech too far. The compartment opened, and Frenzy ejected, landing on the floor and scrambling to turn and face the taller mech.

"Starscream's part is known," Soundwave said. There was no need to explicate more precisely, as both parties knew exactly what he meant. A large blue hand came down behind Frenzy, providing more of a psychological boundary. "Frenzy's part... unclear," Soundwave continued, with the slightest ghosting of disappointment.

Frenzy had been there when Starscream returned alone. He had felt the hidden flash of pain, not only from Soundwave, but from the rest of the cassettes as well. He had almost felt guilty then, not because the squishy was gone, but because he had hurt his family. He didn't fight as the filamentous wires reached for him.

This wasn't his best slice ever, far from it, but it didn't need to be. It didn't matter if there was an obvious Decepticon stamp on the information he was planting, he just needed it in and visible. There was no way the Autobots would ignore the information. They'd expect a trap, of course, and in a way there were right, but only he and Starscream would know about this information. The aerial Decepticon would be in no danger, he could out fly and outfight anyone that might be sent to check on unsigned place and date info.

Soundwave's disappointment strengthened and Frenzy wished he could disappear. /Frenzy's part is known/ Soundwave said, returning to the emotionless patterns of formality. /Administering punishment./

A memory not his own flowed into Frenzy, and he gave a high pitched cry at the invasion. He was standing before the Prime in Rhianna's body, fear and anger and the nascent seeds of hatred blooming within her. She was reacting to Prime like any of his siblings would when they were alone and outnumbered, trapped. And over the whole scene was the knowledge that this was his fault, that he could have spared her this if he had trusted Soundwave's judgment and given her even half a chance.

The memory ended abruptly, but didn't fade entirely. It was a gift, a misplaced moment of someone else's life, given to Frenzy to remind him of his crimes. The filaments drew back into Soundwave's hand, and the full-sized mech looked down on the cassette gently.

Soundwave stopped by Lord Megatron's room just long enough to inform the Decepticon leader about Starscream's confirmed duplicity. As he left, he saw the Seeker coming toward the room. By his bearing, it was clear Starscream knew he was in trouble.

Rhianna left Ravage as soon as Soundwave came in. She was still jittery being out of his range for too long, and blindly opened herself to him, seeking comfort. Frenzy's quick movements as he left Soundwave and went to Rhianna caused her to freeze.

The five foot mech looked at the human who was barely taller than he. He knew what he wanted to say, what he would say if a sibling stood in her place. But she was only human, a squishy!

_Blue optics, _Rhianna noticed. She had seen them before, but only now did she know enough to wonder why Frenzy's optics were the same as the Autobots. Even Jazz's were red.

Ignorant of the human's musing, Frenzy finally brought himself to speak. "I'm... s-s-sorry. I... I-I..." his stuttering voice slipped away.

Rhianna looked at him in confusion for a moment, not expecting a sincere apology from him at all. She wasn't sure how to take it, finally settling on, "It's... okay." Whatever Soundwave had done while they were away seemed to have settled the problem.

* * *

Starscream came into the office, falsely arrogant. "You wanted to see me?" he asked, and Lord Megatron smirked.

Standing, the silver and gold mech stepped around his desk. "You disappoint me, Starscream. I think you have forgotten your place in my absence."

"What makes you think that, my Lord?" Starscream said, sneering as he said the title.

"Did you honestly think your duplicity wouldn't be noticed, Starscream?" Lord Megatron answered, purring and circling the smaller gray mech. "You all be handed the human girl to the Autobots, after all."

"Oh, don't tell me you were concerned for the organic," Starscream protested, covering fear with arrogance.

With a snarl, Lord Megatron hit the seeker from behind, watching dispassionatly as Starscream caught himself against the floor with a hand. "The girl's well-being is of tertiary concern. Soundwave's functioning, the information she might have given, and _my orders_ are of far greater importance."

Starscream got back to his feet, turning to look at Lord Megatron. "If you had not given that information in first place-" his words were cut off by another blow from the Lord.

"_My orders_, Starscream," Lord Megatron snarled. "_Ignore_ the girl, let Soundwave take care of her." Catching the seeker by a back-plate, he shoved the flier against a wall. "Was that to complicated for you?"

Starscream remained silent, painfully enduring this beating as he had many others in the past. Lord Megatron could tell he wasn't really getting through to the seeker, and he snarled a little to himself. "Your days of questioning and undermining my authority are over, Starscream," he purred, voice full of dark malice.

Before Starscream could wonder at the statement, Lord Megatron pulled him away from the wall and dropped him on the floor, pinning the seeker with his own mass. Metal screeched as Lord Megatron ripped into Starscream's chest. The seeker couldn't process what was happening, he was to valuable to be killed. But Lord Megatron's hand was closing around his spark, and with horror Starscream watched as unforgiving fingers pulled the spark from his chest.

Lord Megatron looked past the spark in his hand to meet Starscream's optics with a terrifyingly gentle smile. Red optics turned yellow again as Lord Megatron called on the Allspark's power. And slowly, Starscream's spark began to diminish, flowing into the silver hand. The seeker couldn't even scream as he felt his life fade, and still Lord Megatron smiled.

When Starscream's spark was no more, the Lord stood, looking down at the empty shell. He could still feel the faded spark, it would take very little to restore it and give the mech life again. He was going to have to do that, Starscream was a little too valuable to leave dead, but... Lord Megatron smirked to himself, bending again and stroking one of the delicate wings. It had been... satisfying, extinguishing Starscream's spark.

With a soft cycling of vents, Lord Megatron pulled Starscream from the matrix, shoving the spark roughly back into his body. Starscream looked up at him in fear, but understanding lurked behind the terror. Finally, the seeker understood what Lord Megatron now was.

"A last reminder, Starscream," Lord Megatron said. That was the only warning he gave before pulling the wing free of the seeker's body. Starscream arched away, shrieking and shuddering, and Lord Megatron watched with a slight smile. Shoving the severed appendage into Starscream's arms, the Lord hauled the seeker to his feet. "Get that taken care of," was the last order given before Starscream stumbled from the room.

* * *

"How could you let Soundwave take her like that?" Optimus asked in a tone of disappointment and restrained anger.

Sunstreaker answered with a slight shrug. "He would have torn us apart, Optimus, you know that sir!"

"Why was he even there? You know better than to use open channels on any planet Soundwave is on," Optimus continued.

The Twins shared a glance with Ratchet, something hard behind their optics. Sideswipe answered the Prime's question this time. "We panicked."

"That... that _squishy_ you called her caretaker was-" Sunstreaker added. A sharp glare from Optimus silenced him.

"Then why did you not fulfill your job as her guardians?"

Sunstreaker didn't even try to stop the sneer that showed on his face. "Your orders, sir, were that we stay hidden from the humans unless Decepticon activity threatening Rhianna forced us to reveal ourselves. What should we have done, run him over?" The last line had taken it too far, but Sunstreaker noticed Ironhide nodding like it was a good idea.

"You did nothing to stop Soundwave from killing Mr. Jacobson," Optimus pointed out sternly. "Answer me truthfully, Sunstreaker, did you and your brother simply watch as the casseticons tore him apart?"

Sunstreaker knew better than to meet Optimus' optics. The yellow 'bot knew there was a spark of crimson in his eyes, and he couldn't risk Optimus seeing that. If it wasn't for Sides, he would have left the Autobots ages ago, but Sides liked it here, and so Sunny abode by the rules. "Yes. We did," he hissed out.

Surprisingly, it was Sideswipe who muttered, "The fragger deserved it."

"I only wish I were there," Ratchet agreed quietly.

"Ratchet, Sideswipe!" Optimus said in shock. "Not you too. You know we don't harm humans."

The CMO stepped forward then, with the temper he usually reserved for trespassers in his med bay. "You harmed Rhianna, sir! You forced her to return to that house, without even listening to her protests. You didn't even ask me if she might have valid reasons for running! Soundwave was far more merciful than I fear I would have been, if it were my youngling treated in such a manner!"

"_Youngling_?" Optimus practically snarled. "Rhianna is a human girl, not a youngling, Ratchet."

Sideswipe supported Ratchet, though. "Soundwave sure was acting like she was his youngling. Remember, eons ago, when that cassette was shot down? Remember how Soundwave linked to everyone on the battlefield with the iciest rage anyone ever felt?"

"He was doing that again," Sunstreaker continued. "He must have linked everyone in the neighborhood. I couldn't have moved if I had wanted too."

Optimus slowly sank to his chair, covering his face with a hand and shaking his head. "Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, because of your negligence, the Decepticons have captured Rhianna once again. I can only shudder as I imagine what she must be going through right now." Ignoring the looks of disbelief coming from Ratchet and the Twins, he continued. "Perhaps some time in the brig will clear things up for you. Ratchet, I think you need some time to cool off as well. Ironhide, see that it's done. Dismissed."

The three mechs quietly followed Ironhide to the brig. In individual cells, they waited until the Weapons Officer had left. Then they dared to look at each other. In three sets of optics, a crimson flame flickered in sky blue depths.

* * *

Rhianna woke to the familiar sway of Soundwave's movement. It was rather like being on a ship at sea, she thought. Looking out the windows, she barely had time to wonder where they were going before Soundwave walked into the _Nemesis_' bridge. /My left/ Soundwave sent with a surge of satisfaction.

Rhianna looked to the left almost instinctually, not fully cognizant of what had been said. She gasped at the sight of a beaten mech, and only slowly recognized a much-subdued Starscream. A rush of guilt swept over her until she remembered Soundwave's careful correction. Lord Megatron had not punished Starscream for what he had done to Rhianna, but for the disobedience he had shown. She had just been caught in the middle.

The damaged Seeker sent a glare towards Soundwave before turning away. The sharp silver of a fresh weld line traveled all the way up one wing. /Lord Megatron found your idea... amusing/ Soundwave explained, moving to his accustomed position next to Blackout.

"Sir," Jazz called, now sitting at a console. He kept his optics on the screen, reading something. "Pentagon just contacted Autobot HQ." He paused a moment, then looked at Lord Megatron, smiling as always. "Pickup's scheduled for thirteen-hundred today, sir."

"Blackout, proceed," Lord Megatron said in response to Jazz's information.

"Yes, Lord Megatron," the black mech said, with a short bow.

Rhianna watched the proceedings curiously, finally asked Soundwave what was going on.

/My actions in your 'neighborhood' gained the attention of the local military. It is known the Autobots were involved. The Prime is sending two of his humans to explain to the military/ Soundwave answered.

"Aaah, and Blackout is going to intercept."

Soundwave agreed, adding a little more to Rhianna's analysis. /Lord Megatron is going to make the military a counter to the Prime's offer./ Rhianna knew by the slightly teasing tone that Soundwave was going to make her watch to find out what else was happening.

* * *

Blackout's high top speed crossed the one and a half thousand air miles in a little under two hours. He slowed just before he was in sensor range, approaching the Autobot base as though he were any other human-piloted Pave Low. He saw the makeshift landing pad, with the Prime and weapon specialist standing next to it, a few humans with them.

Landing, Blackout let his holographic driver smile as he opened his side doors. He was early, and the actual transport would likely arrive soon. It was his job to make that 'soon' into a 'too late'.

He felt the dark human giving him a hard stare, and he responded with a friendly wave from the hologram. He had seen that dark human before, at the airbase he'd attacked. The first human who had recognized Blackout as a living being waved goodbye to the Autobots and climbed into the helicopter with another human accompanying him.

Sergeant Epps pulled the helicopter's door shut, trying to ignore the sinking feeling. He was just upset, he told himself. Soundwave had caused quite a mess in Duluth, and then Ratchet had got himself in the brig... That was enough to make anyone uneasy. "All ready, Airman Greene?" Epps asked his companion as they buckled in.

Greene finished snapping his belt and gave his superior a thumbs up. Epps then turned and gave the pilot the go ahead, and they took to the air.

"What a mess, isn't it, sir?" Greene asked. "'Bots, even Ratchet, in the brig, that girl captured again, all those people traumatized... What the hell did that thing do there, anyway?"

"You mean you don't know, Greene?" Epps said in surprise. "Man, here I thought everyone at base knew that."

Greene shook his head. "I know a 'con showed up, and from the rumors he was pretty pissed. He made some kinda scene, and left a bit of a mess, but..."

"Soundwave is a telepath, Airman," Epps informed the younger man. "I asked Ratchet and the Twins what happened... It seems he's capable of mentally linking large numbers of people. If he was linked to them when he killed Mr. Jacobson..." The tech sergeant trailed off, looking out the window. The Twins hadn't answered when he asked them what happened, and Ratchet had only said that Rhianna was safe.

Blackout smiled to himself. It seemed the girl's 'capture' had caused a fair shake up for the Autobots, even to the point of their medic causing enough trouble to be restrained. Everyone knew that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe treated the brig almost like a vacation. Every time they were in and Laserbeak saw them in there he made sure to report it, finding it consistently amusing. But Ratchet was always the voice of reason, any medic was. The shake up had to be pretty bad if he was in the brig too.

Blackout was nearing his top speed when Greene noticed. "Um, sir?" the senior airman asked, pointing out the window.

"What is it, Greene?" Epps asked, thoughts returning to the present.

"Sir, can the Pave Low go this fast?" Fear was creeping into the young man's voice.

"Shit," Epps answered, finally noticing the blur of the ground. "Shit, shit..."

Blackout gave a chuckle, knowing he was discovered. "Hello, humans," he said, satisfied with the progression of events.

"Shit, you're dead! I helped kill you myself!" Epps called. "Shoulda known better when she talked about you," he added in a quieter tone, looking around futility.

"I was," Blackout said amusedly, as though he were sharing a private joke. "Rhianna mentioned me?"

Epps glared at the door. "Whatever you're trying to do, Blackout, it's not gonna work. We ain't gonna help you."

"So certain?" the mech asked, turning a little to correct his course. "Don't worry, you're not in danger. Lord Megatron just wants a word with you."

Greene paled at the name and Epps started cursing violently. "No way, man, NO WAY. I saw him die, we all did!"

"You saw me die too," Blackout answered, with just a hint of the fanatic's madness in his voice. "Don't worry, humans, it will all get explained," he added teasingly. After that, he ignored his passengers, even as he blocked their attempts at communication with their base.

* * *

Hehehe... quite a bit of plot, no? Please leave a review!


	12. Chapter 12

Hello, my readers! In this chapter, Epps and Greene talk with Megatron! Yeah... Epps proved quite difficult to work with. Oh well, I'm sure you'll enjoy! Transformers isn't mine, yada yada, you all know this part.

* * *

Rhianna tried not to fidget as she stood by Soundwave's foot. He was standing next to Lord Megatron, the rest of the Decepticon forces with them. They were in _Nemesis_' hanger bay, a large open area which served as the primary access point. Blackout was due to arrive soon with the human 'guests', and had in fact just radioed Soundwave. That was when she had been lowered to the ground and informed that she was there to calm the humans.

It made sense, she supposed. If Lord Megatron wanted to actually talk with them, he would need to calm them down in some way, and another human would be quite helpful with that. Rhianna was just afraid she would fail her duty, and she didn't want to disappoint anyone.

A burst of reassurance came from the link, and then the hanger's top doors opened. Blackout was coming straight down the long tube that pierced the water. There was a breeze, and then door at the top of the tube closed and the tube began retracting, Blackout easily out pacing it. He landed, an artificial gale whipping Rhianna's black hair, and then his rotors stopped and a door opened.

For a moment, nothing happened. Blackout snarled, "Get out!" Shortly after, two men left him.

"Oh, shit," Epps muttered as Blackout transformed behind him. The tech sergeant didn't notice, eyes fixed on a mech he had only seen in the worst of circumstances. "Oh... shit."

/Go/ Soundwave told Rhianna.

She recognized Epps, wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, didn't have time to dwell on it. Rhianna stepped away from the chromatic blue mech, and in front of Lord Megatron, approaching the men with measured steps to hide fear. "Hey there, Sergeant Epps," she said with a smile.

Epps was able to look away finally from the brilliant gold and silver mech. He gasped a little when he saw Rhianna, looking far better than she had in the Autobot base. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here," he grumbled.

"You're not in any danger," Rhianna said, sure she was only repeating something they had already been told. She took a single step back, towards Lord Megatron, trying to get Epps and the other man to unconsciously follow her. It worked, as they both stumbled towards her a little.

"What the hell's going on?" Epps asked. He tried to look around, tried to ignore the nightmare shape standing directly ahead. That was made hard when the mech spoke.

"Blackout brought you here at my request," Lord Megatron said. His tone was almost calming, but neither Epps nor Greene felt any safer. "Tonight, I will talk to you, and tomorrow you will be returned to your military assignment unharmed."

The tank thing, and the helicopter, Epps recognized them. He remembered that bone-beige mech, too, from watching it plow Optimus right off the highway. He glanced again at Megatron, then snapped out, "Why aren't they all dead?" A human was easier to deal with than should-be-dead mechs, and looking at Rhianna, Epps asked again in a tone on the edge of breaking, "Why ain't they dead?"

Rhianna looked a Lord Megatron and got a silent nod. She was free to tell them what she would. The time for keeping secrets was at an end. "That's one of the things that he wants to discuss with you," she answered, reaching towards Epps. He flinched, and she dropped her hand. "It was the Allspark," Rhianna explained, realizing the men needed some concrete answers. "It... merged with Lord Megatron. I'm... really not the best one to tell about it." Slow, measured steps had drawn the men within ten feet of the Lord without them realizing.

"Merged with him?" Epps muttered, looking up at the looming mech.

"The what?" Greene asked, trying to string his thoughts together. He hadn't been at Mission City, he'd come in later. He'd thought the Autobots were huge, but even the smallest of the Decepticons was only about average for the Autobots.

Rhianna answered Greene in a quiet voice, trying to not distract Epps thoughts and more than a little surprised Greene didn't know. "The Allspark, the source of life. It's what they were fighting over."

"Come," Lord Megatron ordered suddenly, turning and leaving the hanger. The majority of mechs began dispersing, leaving through other doors.

With the attention off them, Epps broke from his daze. Rhianna offered him a smile, motioning towards the door Lord Megatron had taken. "C'mon, he's fairly patient but that doesn't mean you want to keep him waiting." She was aware of Soundwave's silent attention, but the others didn't seem to notice him.

"Kid..." Epps said slowly. "You can tell me. Are you... I mean, you're okay, aren't you?"

Rhianna was silent a moment, choosing her words. "You told me... You thought I was misguided. That if I knew everything, I'd side with the 'bots. Remember, Epps?" He nodded slowly, and she continued in a carefully controlled voice, "I had my chance to learn 'everything'. I learned the Prime didn't care about me, and wouldn't listen." She shook her head slightly. "I told you... that I thought the same about you, that if you knew everything, you would change sides as well. Well, this is your chance to learn 'everything'."

Epps seemed to have understood her message, but she wasn't sure if he was actually listening to her. She sighed a little a motioned to the door again. "Come on, I still get lost down here. Let's get going before Lord Megatron decides to leave us and make me figure out how to get there." It was an idle threat, really, Lord Megatron wanted to speak to them too much to cause delays, but it got the men moving.

Lord Megatron nodded slightly at the humans as they came out, then began walking towards his office. He had to go far slower than he liked, but he knew the military men would never accept a ride from him. As the humans began trotting to keep up with his large steps, he admitted that Rhianna was doing a far better job than expected, especially so soon after her rescue. Soundwave had relayed the conversation in the hanger bay, an overlay of pride in the communication.

Rhianna knew as soon as they walked into the office that there was going to be a problem. The top of Lord Megatron's desk was fifteen feet up, and he was already sitting down, so even attempting that route was out of the question. She was sure the mech would have no objection to lifting the humans up, but she doubted the visitors would be so sanguine. From the quirk of Lord Megatron's lipless mouth, she assumed he was thinking the same thing even as he wordlessly held a hand down.

"What the hell... what's he doing?" Epps asked. Greene was silent, looking around the room with large eyes.

"Decepticons don't have ladders up to their desks," Rhianna answered. "The cassetticons could make the jump up there, but for us, well..." she motioned, glad of Lord Megatron's patience.

"Uh-uh, no way. We're supposed to just happily climb into his hand? Hell no," Epps protested.

"Well, you do have the option of staying on the floor," Rhianna pointed out, delicately stepping into the slender hand. Lord Megatron didn't move, recognizing her ploy.

Greene approached first, less afraid of Megatron than Epps was. He had heard stories about the Decepticon leader, but this was his first time seeing the mech. He looked at Rhianna, now a little taller than him and appearing perfectly comfortable in the large hand. "How come... he's just waiting?" the airman asked, glancing nervously at the red optics. An Autobot would have moved by now, offered reassurances, or simply dispatching with the pleasantries and picking the offered rider up.

"Never trust a mech that just picks you up without your permission," Rhianna answer. "Starscream's the only one who's done that to me, and... well, maybe you don't know how that worked out." She offered her hand as well, and Greene began to accept it.

"Hey, get down from there, man," Epps protested, sounding surprised.

Greene, fully in Lord Megatron's hand, turned and looked as his superior in confusion. Before he could say anything, the mech lifted the pair up. That got the job half done, at least, and might just reassure the black man in the process. Greene, not expecting the sudden movement, fell to his knees, but Rhianna still held his hand and tightened her grip a little, steadying him.

Helping Greene to the desk, Rhianna commented, "There, that wasn't so bad." Looking down she added, "Your turn, Epps."

Still regarding the metal limb suspiciously, Epps got on, allowing Lord Megatron to bring him up as well. He was rewarded with Rhianna's bright smile.

"I shall begin with your biggest question," Lord Megatron said. In broad terms, he explained that the shock of the Allspark merging with his systems had temporarily offlined him. He expressed his disdain over the Autobots' erroneous assumption that the life giving force could ever be used to kill, and then moved on to the happenings in the Laurentian abyss.

"A current caught us," Lord Megatron said. "We missed the trench by a matter of meters. I was online, and my first priority was to online my soldiers as well." With dry humor, he added, "Imagine my surprise when I found the body of an Autobot with us."

"You mean," Epps interrupted, startled, "That was really Jazz? But... I mean..."

Lord Megatron smiled coldly. "Discarded by his faction, there was no risk in reviving him. Betrayed by the Autobots, he chose to serve me."

In very brittle and fragile tones Epps asks carefully, "How did you revive Jazz, and the Decepticons as well?"

This was the heart of the matter, and everyone in the room knew it. "I really must thank that boy, Sam," Lord Megatron said, almost purring. "By trying to kill me, he gave me victory. The Prime thinks the Allspark is destroyed, but that is not the case." He paused, and red optics met human eyes. "I... _am_ the Allspark."

Greene didn't fully understand. Beside him, Epps went gray. "Oh, shit," the Sergeant muttered, the enormity of the statement slowly seeping into him. "Shit, I guess that means we're fucked."

"It does not," Lord Megatron corrected firmly. "Ah, let me guess. You were told I wished to use the Allspark, to create an army? And in so doing, I would destroy your race?" Epps nodded woodenly, and Lord Megatron bit off a laugh. "Just like the Prime, always assumes the worst of me. What, might I ask, would I gain from such frivolous use of resources?" Seeing the incomprehension on both the men's faces, the Lord explained more.

"Say I bring every electrical machine on this planet to life. I would have an army of billions... and instant chaos, with no way to control the army I had created. Half the sparklings would kill themselves within minutes. At the end of two hours, I'd be doing well if a tenth still lived. Admittedly, I could repair and respark the dead, but that would be inefficient, pointless."

A flare of hope sparked in Epps. Pragmatically, he tried to quench it, reminding himself that Megatron was a liar. "So what? That's only if you bring them all to life at once!"

How quickly hope and rage killed fear, Megatron mused, correcting himself almost immediately. They didn't kill fear, they merely hid it. "Granted. But you see, if I allow your civilization to continue, you would provide the base mechanics, and step into a galactic civilization."

"Do you really think our government will stand for that? Who can believe a word you say, Megatron?" Epps asked scornfully.

Rhianna took a step forward, ready to fight on her Lord's behalf. The gold and silver mech stopped her with a motion. "And how do you know you can trust Optimus Prime, human? Do you have proof of the truth of his word, or of the lie of mine?" He paused, giving Epps time to answer. With no rebuttal forthcoming, Lord Megatron smiled. "Think it over. Blackout will take you to Washington tomorrow." Ending the conversation, he offered his hand. Epps scowled, but there was no fuss in getting the humans to the ground.

Rhianna stalked out of Lord Megatron's office, barely taking the time to ensure that Epps and Greene were behind her. _I must calm down, they drop Prime's title all the time, Lord Megatron didn't take offense, I need to calm down,_ she repeated to herself in a silent mantra.

"Hey, sis, how'zit goin'?" a welcome voice broke her thoughts.

"Rumble, going okay, I guess..." Rhianna shot a look over her shoulder, then sighed.

Rumble slung an arm around the human girl. "Don't worry 'bout it. C'mon, the Boss sent me t'getcha. And them."

"And them?" Rhianna asked, surprised.

"Well, 'course. _Nemesis_ don't got many places set up for humans," Rumble answered congenially.

"True," Rhianna nodded, letting the cassette lead them.

"Whoa, where're we going?" Epps asks suspiciously.

Rhianna smiled slightly, knowing they wouldn't like the answer. "The only place on the _Nemesis_ that's set up for our kind. Soundwave's room."

"Wait, the telepath?"

Rumble answered, "He won't link ya." Neither of the men relaxed, but that wasn't Rhianna's problem any longer.

Epps lay in the dark, settled into some kind of nest of rags. Greene was curled up beside him, snoring lightly, but Epps hadn't been able to sleep. As soon as they had stepped into this room, Rhianna had relaxed, ignoring them and chattering with the Cassetticons. Everyone had ignored Greene and him, though they had answered his few questions readily enough.

He couldn't stop a shiver as he remembered how easy Rhianna acted, how well she... seemed to belong here. It was like watching Sam and Bumblebee. When it was time for bed and the Cassettes flew into Soundwave, Epps hadn't been totally surprised to find Rhianna also carried into the chromatic blue mech's chest. And now he was laying here, thoughts in a whirl, and almost doubting who to trust.

* * *

Soundwave came online with a bolt of stark fear. He was an experienced enough telepath to recognize that the emotion was not his own, and he turned his mind to his recharging cassettes. The fear was echoing through them, rippling and growing, and he worked to cut the fear off without cutting the younglings from the link. It was all a matter of finding the originator, and considering recent events, there was really only one likely originator.

/Rhianna, awaken. You are dreaming/ he sent firmly, trying to stop the torrent of her fear.

"Stop... no..." Rhianna moaned, still firmly sleeping.

/Rhianna!/ Soundwave tried again. The feedback was growing, the human's fear dancing down his processor.

"No, uncle!" Rhianna snapped, anger in her tone. A clang sounded inside Soundwave as she sat up, eyes open unseeingly. She had tried to straighten her legs and accidentally kicked Frenzy, who muttered something nasty in his sleep.

/He is dead/ Soundwave reminded. With her fear turned to anger, the ripples were stilling and fading.

Panting, Rhianna looked around at the darkness and felt the metal under her fingers. "S-soundwave?" she murmured. "But I..."

/You were dreaming/ he answered patiently.

"I... I'm sorry, I... didn't mean to wake you," the girl said.

Soundwave frowned to himself. Rhianna had almost been over this behavior before Starscream abandoned her, and now she was right back to apologizing for things beyond her control. /Sleep/ he soothed. Very quickly, the still-tired girl was recharging again.

The mech was slower to drop into recharge. Monitoring his cassettes in an almost idle manner, Soundwave reviewed an idea he had been toying with for a while. Rhianna's biggest problem, after all, was that she was human.

Much to Rhianna's contentment, Epps and Greene left the next morning with no incident. Things mostly settled down for her, and she was even willing to leave Soundwave to watch movies with Jazz soon.

* * *

And Rhianna begins to heal... again. Ohh, any guesses as to what Soundwave's thinking? Hehe, please leave a review!!


	13. Chapter 13

I still don't own Transformers. Another huge plot... Yeah, my character development decided it wanted to have plot now, or something. This was a FUN chapter.

* * *

Lord Megatron shifted slightly in his throne, wondering if Soundwave even realized he was linked to everyone in the room. More importantly, he wondered if the blue mech realized his emotions were bleeding through quite freely. Looking around the bridge of the _Nemesis_, the Lord realized that most of his troops were distracted by Soundwave's leakage, though they didn't seem to realize the source of their distraction. Lord Megatron stood, enjoying the momentary silence that followed his action as everyone looked to see if he would command them. "Soundwave, my office. _Alone_," the massive mech ordered before sweeping out of the room.

Lord Megatron had been waiting in his office for a little while before Soundwave entered. The Lord wasn't bothered, knowing the chromatic blue mech's delay was due to him dropping the cassettes off. As Soundwave walked in, Lord Megatron pointed at an extra chair. Soundwave pulled it over and sat wordlessly.

"What is distracting you, Soundwave?" Lord Megatron asked with just the edge of a growl.

Soundwave didn't answer immediately, a fact that in itself got Lord Megatron's attention. Only rarely did the communications officer hesitate to talk with his Lord, and every time it was because he feared he was crossing a taboo. "I am... concerned," Soundwave finally said, using the relaxed speech patterns that the Lord had only heard a couple of times before.

"Concerned? About what?" the questions came, softer than before.

"Is it... possible," Soundwave said slowly, feeling like he was picking his way through a minefield, "To transfer a living mind into a protoform?"

There was a flicker of optics as Lord Megatron interpreted the odd query and considered the ramifications. "You are worried about the girl's fragility?" the silver and gold mech asked. Such a transfer should be possible, it wouldn't be that different from pulling his soldiers from the Matrix. At least it shouldn't be that different, but he'd have to find a way to make the human spark manifest.

"I... Yes, Lord Megatron." Soundwave didn't need to clarify. Barricade had been on the very edge of his link that night. Lord Megatron knew what had happened, and what it meant about Rhianna's position in Soundwave's eyes.

"You're leaking," Lord Megatron commented mildly as he was hit with a rush of apprehension. There was a slight brush of embarrassment, and then the emotions cut off. "I believe it would be possible," he nodded. "Bring me some lesser organics to experiment with first." He did not want to risk Rhianna, for the simple fact that he needed Soundwave fully operational.

Soundwave stood and gave a bow. "As you command, my lord," the telepath answered formally. The first step was done, at least, and he felt himself relaxing. There was still a lot of work to be done, and always the possibility of failure, but it was better to do something, to work towards a goal, then to just let it die.

* * *

"Well, Ratchet, you're getting out early," Ironhide observed, letting the chartreuse mech out of the holding cell.

"What's the occasion?" Ratchet asked grumpily.

"Optimus can tell you," Ironhide answered. Ratchet nodded, glanced at the Twins to check his patch job. Two pairs of cerulean optics looked back at him, and he nodded once again.

"I'd better be going then. Stay out of trouble, you two."

"Yes, Ratchet," Sunstreaker and Sideswipe chorused mournfully. Ratchet snorted at them and left the brig, going to Optimus' office.

As Ratchet knocked on the door, fingers clanging slightly, he wondered just when the Autobots had picked up that human gesture. It was redundant, anyone with working scans could tell when there was someone outside their door. Optimus called for him to come in, and Ratchet sighed to clear his head before entering.

The Prime looked up as the medic walked in, a serious look on his face. "There's been another incident, Ratchet. I need everyone on my team," Optimus said, sounding very sad and gentle.

"What's happened, Optimus?" Ratchet asked, all business, just as was expected.

"Three days ago, the Decepticons managed to capture Sergeant Epps and another man. Two days ago, Blackout delivered them, unharmed, in front of the Pentagon. They only got back last night and gave me their report."

Ratchet made an abortive move to go out the door and check on the humans himself. Something about Optimus stopped him, however, a delicate edge that was halfway between panic and madness, showing up clear as day to the medic's sensors. "What is it, Optimus? What's got you worked up?"

"Megatron has returned," Optimus answered bluntly. "He spoke to Epps, sent him to the pentagon with an offer. If the human government follows him, he says he won't destroy the human race."

"What... have they given any answer? Are they even considering it? I... this is madness," Ratchet burst out, optics flickering rapidly as his processors struggled to keep up with the information. For one crystal clear moment, he realized he trusted every word of Megatron's reported offer, and then Optimus' voice shattered the clarity.

"That's not the worst of it, my friend," the Prime said tiredly. "Remember that saboteur from months ago? The one that looked like-" He didn't say the name, he didn't have too. "Epps said that everyone from Mission City, all of our dead, is revived. And serving Megatron. He said... that Megatron claimed..." Blue optics offlined for a moment. "Claimed to be the Allspark."

Ratchet froze, standing statue-still as the enormity of that statement hit him. "Sweet Primus." But if that was true... "Then why are we even still fighting? Why hasn't he overwhelmed us with an army?"

"I don't know," Optimus answered, a little short. "I can come up with no explanation for his actions. That is the situation, so you'd best go prepare."

"Yes... prepare..." Ratchet muttered. Yes, he had much to do. And first on his list was talk to Epps and that other man himself, to get the story as pure as possible. And then he would talk to the Twins. He just hoped his temporary optic filters continued to hide the encroaching red.

* * *

Lord Megatron repressed the urge to cycle his vents in a completely pointless human gesture. Laserbeak had brought a small earth animal, an absolutely tiny gray thing. An absolutely tiny gray thing that was currently climbing all over the sliver and gold mech in an absolute panic, squeaking all the while. Fighting very hard to remain immobile as the small organic flittered around delicate wiring, Lord Megatron stared at Laserbeak. With an apologetic bob of his red and black head, the cassette flew away.

Non-sapient animals were a bit different than sapient mechs, or humans, for that matter. Their spark, in so far as they _had_ any, was very primitive. That didn't matter, this was only a test to see if the organic spark could be forced into manifesting. There was a small piece of human technology sitting on the desk, a cell phone, ready in the case a spark did appear.

A tiny organic claw scrapped against a circuit, and Lord Megatron growled. The animal froze, chittering nervously. Deciding it didn't matter where the animal was, as long as it was touching him, Lord Megatron went to work, feeling for the small organic life.

Thundercracker jumped a little as the door to Lord Megatron's office opened as he walked by. He jumped further as a tiny mechanical being ran out of the office with a high pitched keening, throwing itself at him and beginning to climb up with no warning. Peering out at the world by the Seeker's bone-yellow hip, the creature began chattering in a scolding manner.

"Thundercracker?" a tired voice asked in quiet confusion. Lord Megatron was standing in the door to his office, looking a little dazed at he regarded the thing. The ex-organic seemed to feel quite safe among Thundercracker's internal components.

"Yes, Lord Megatron?" Thundercracker snapped out. The Seeker was pretty sure he wasn't in trouble, but he wasn't quite certain.

Lord Megatron rumbled softly, a laugh. "Keep that thing out of my way and go get Soundwave."

His confusion not in the least alleviated, Thundercracker said, "Yes, sir." As he left, the mechanical thing still on his hip, he could hear Lord Megatron's quiet chuckles following him.

* * *

"Megatron is the Allspark, and he's proposed a truce to the human government," Ratchet informed Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. "Epps is thinking about going back to the Pentagon and urging the brass to accept." It was Rhianna's confidence around Megatron, her easy manner around Soundwave, that caused Epps to rethink the situation. Ratchet had 'accidentally' mentioned that Prime had known Rhianna didn't want to go to the Jacobsons. The black man's mouth had tightened at the information.

"What's Optimus planning on doing?" the red mech asked, leaning against the wall of his cell.

"Fighting," Ratchet answered shortly.

"Is... Megatron's offer genuine?" Sunstreaker asked, a slight hesitancy before he said the titleless name.

Ratchet nodded. "Epps said the reasoning is sound. Apparently, destroying human civilization and killing them all would constitute a waste of resources." The three mechs looks at each other, each one knowing how jealously Megatron guarded resources.

Sideswipe stood slowly. "So what are we doing?"

"There's a general meeting tonight," Ratchet answered, fingers dancing on the cell locks. "Everyone else will be there." With a quiet clink, the holding cells unlocked. Neither Twin moved towards the doors.

"You'll want a faster form," Sunstreaker said. Ratchet gave a short nod and left.

* * *

And so we see what Soundwave was thinking... Here's hoping I can pull it off. Any guesses where Ratch' and the Twins are gonna go? Also... I randomly LOVE that little cellphone thing.

Oh, go read Ties of Friendship, by Corona1. I think... does it count as a fanfic? I'm not sure, but it's good! Leave a review before you check it, though, please?


	14. Chapter 14

Don't own Transforms... That said... hum... Ah, yes! Ratchet and the Twins... Hope y'all like the 'faster form' I gave him! And hope you liked how I handed... well, you'll see.

* * *

"Thanks, Jazz!" Rhianna said, hoping from the small mech's hand to the floor with a friendly wave. He returned the wave and left, and she looked around. The cassetticons were on the desk, she could barely see them from the floor, and Soundwave was working on something.

/Want help?/ Buzzsaw asked, the only one to acknowledge Rhianna's arrival.

As unwilling to simply climb on Soundwave as he was to simply pick her up, Rhianna answered, /Yes, please, 'Saw./ The golden bird dove off the desk and snatched Rhianna up. He landed her on the very edge of the desktop, seeming reluctant fly further in. From here, Rhianna saw that the cassettes were watching Soundwave, but she couldn't quite see what he was doing.

"Ah... what's... going on?" Rhianna asked. The intensity with which everyone was watching kept her voice low as she took a couple steps forward.

Soundwave lowered his tool and looked up, almost like he hadn't noticed Rhianna enter. There was a brief pause and then he answered, "I am building a protoform."

Rhianna blinked and looked again. Frenzy shifted a little, and she realized not all of the silver had been his. "A protoform...? But... why?"

"Lord Megatron has learned how to convert an organic body into a manifest spark," Soundwave said. As usual, his answer required some thought to understand.

"So... he... can make mechs from people...?" Rhianna asked slowly. "Does this have anything to do with that squirrel like thing that's adopted Thundercracker?" Jazz had told her all about it, a tiny cell phone climbing up and down the Seeker like a squirrel up a tree at a park.

Amusement greeted her words. The entire Decepticon force found Thundercracker's plight quite funny. "That was a first attempt," Soundwave explained. "The lower forms of life are not difficult, and have no mind to protect. For a human, however, he will require my aid."

_Wait a minute... Is he suggesting...?_ Rhianna wondered. "So," she said thickly, "Who's the lucky person?"

The cassetticon's laughter was expected, and Rhianna slowly nodded. Soundwave silently quieted the cassettes. "Do you object?" he asked, with only the thinest razor of concern making it through his control.

Rhianna stepped closer to the barely begun protoform, looking at the graceful silver lines. She took her time answering, knowing that thoroughness was preferred to hastiness. Could she do it, did she even want to, give up her human life and spend unknown eternities in a body of metal and circuits. She knew without asking that she would be a cassetticon, a sister to the others and daughter to Soundwave. She already was, they already treated her as such.

She slowly reached for metal, ready to stop if needed. What was it like, in a body of steel? _Well, for starters, I wouldn't be squishy..._ Rhianna found herself smiling as she felt the metal under her fingers. _I'd be a Decepticon, just like... my siblings. Serving Lord Megatron..._ "No," she whispered, barely audible. "No, I don't object..." She turned, smiling broadly up at Soundwave. "I don't object in the least."

Soundwave smiled, though his battlemask hid it. He felt himself relaxing further as he returned to his work, building the protoform with as much care as he had employed with the first five of his children. Soon this strange once-broken girl would be fully his creation.

* * *

Out in Nevada, two sports cars raced through the night, a helicopter flying above them. The white 'copter was slower then the cars, but had a straight shot, unlike them. The cars stayed on the back roads around big cities, expecting to reach their destination in about five hours. If they were very lucky, the Autobots wouldn't know they were gone until they were safe.

* * *

Rhianna knew it was late, how late she didn't know, but late. She should be asleep, she was sure, they should all be in recharge, but... She nestled against Ravage, watching Soundwave's careful and gracefully precise movements. The paint on his fingers shifted through the spectrum, from the deep purple all the way up into green, changing color with each unhurried motion. The protoform actually looked like something now, even if it was still mostly a bundle of wires laced around the silver supports.

Soundwave paused, tilting his head to one side as though listening to something. The cassettes stood up gathered into a loose semi-circle, waiting for their creator's instructions. Putting his tool down, Soundwave wordlessly opened his chest compartment. The entered, quiet sounds of transformation coming as each cassette folded into their place. Rhianna was last, running and jumping into the compartment as the windows closed behind her, partly to keep her from falling out.

/What is it?/ Frenzy asked softly.

/Contact through old Decepticon frequencies/ the blue mech answered. He gave no further information as he walked through the halls, lit as brightly as ever despite the late hour. Stopping outside a door, Soundwave hesitated for maybe half a second before opening it.

The light from the hallway picked out the gold and silver of the reclining mech, and Rhianna felt a delicate shiver of fear. Even in recharge, Lord Megatron was imposing, laying on his back with his hand loosely clasped over his torso. Before Soundwave could speak, black optics lit with a scarlet hue. "What is it?" Lord Megatron asked, still motionless.

"Signal received on old frequency," Soundwave answered, harmonic voice melding into the silence.

"Faction?"

"Faction... Neutral," Soundwave said.

Lord Megatron sat up at that. "What designation?" he asked, true curiosity in his tone. There hadn't been anyone identifying as neutral since before the Cube was lost.

Soundwave was silent, contacting the source of the signal and asking the designation. The answer came, and Soundwave played it for all to hear. :This is Ratchet, with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. We respectfully request a meeting with Meg- with _Lord_ Megatron.:

Lord Megatron smiled to himself and stood. "I haven't left the _Nemesis_ for months. I will grant their request. Soundwave, accompany." He strode past the smaller mech, who paused for a moment to relay the information and then fell in behind the Lord.

/Ratchet, with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe? I thought those three tried to avoid each other/ Buzzsaw observed.

Laserbeak agreed, /They do, quite actively./

/I wonder what brings them all here?/ Frenzy said in a faux-rhetorical manner. A twist to his thoughts made it clear he considered Rhianna to be the cause of the three mech's actions, though there was no negative blame attached.

* * *

On the moon-lit shores of Lake Superior, Ratchet relaxed slightly. "They're coming. Come here, let me take those filters off before they arrive."

"You ever thought this day would come?" Sunstreaker asked, stepping forward and trying not to flinch as the medic reached for his optics.

"I don't have to answer that," Ratchet said, his new white paint shining faintly in the moonlight. He carefully worked a probe between the filter and Sunstreaker's optic.

His back to the small operation, Sideswipe was looking for any signs of approach. "I didn't," he said in a small voice. "I thought I'd follow Optimus until the day I entered the Matrix." He didn't regret being here, though.

"Honestly, I thought I might be here eventually," Sunstreaker answered his own question. There was a slight pop as the filters fell to the ground. Sunstreaker moved to take his brother's position as Sideswipe took his. "I'm gonna need a new paint scheme," Sunstreaker muttered, optics completely red.

"But then your name won't fit," Sideswipe observed, flinching slightly as the probe started its work.

"Good point," the yellow mech agreed.

Ratchet smiled as the brothers spoke, trying to hide their nervousness. Sideswipe's optics still had a band of blue on the outside. "It'll be okay," Ratchet soothed before turning his tools on himself.

He had just exposed red optics to the world when Sunstreaker warned, "They're coming."

* * *

Rhianna couldn't stifle a gasp when she saw the mechs through Soundwave's windows. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe she recognized, though they looked far more welcome with the red optics she was used too. The third mech, however, she would never have recognized as Ratchet. He was thinner now, and a little taller than before, still massing more then the Twins. His armor was a pure white, almost luminous in the night, with stark black rotor blades hanging behind him and red optics blazing even as he bowed respectfully to Lord Megatron.

"You really did go neutral," Lord Megatron muttered, looking at the smaller mechs. "So what brings you here?"

"We're defecting," Sunstreaker answered. A sharp look from Ratchet and an amused one from Lord Megatron silenced him.

"We wish," Ratchet said slowly, "To join your faction... Lord Megatron." Eight words, all that was needed to betray the faction he had given his life to.

Lord Megatron wore a look of polite skepticism, even as Soundwave informed him that they seemed sincere. "Them," he motioned to the Twins, "I can understand. But you, Ratchet, ever loyal to the Prime..." Lord Megatron trailed off.

Ratchet's optics brightened in anger at the mention of the Prime. "He has betrayed every ideal he swore himself too," the medic snapped out, blades fanning up. "From repeatedly endangering the people of this planet, to idly standing by and allowing Jazz to be dumped with..." A flicker of optics and a note of ironic amusement entered his tone, "Well, with you. For millennia he was obsessed with the idea of destroying the Cube, to bring peace, and only cast it into space because of my unyielding resistance! And now he even denies the words of his own soldiers," Ratchet glanced at the silent Soundwave, but spoke of a different instance. "You have made an offer of peace to the humans. The Prime will continue to fight."

Sideswipe looked at Sunstreaker, blue rapidly fading. "Ratchet's pretty passionate about this..." the red mech observed. Sunstreaker nodded in agreement.

Lord Megatron observed Ratchet for a long moment. Ratchet's optics never left his own. Finally, Lord Megatron nodded, motioning for the Twins to approach as well. They only came to within a few steps, and then the three former 'bots knelt, right arms over their spark chambers in the same pose Rhianna had unconsciously mimicked months ago.

"Ratchet, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe. You three have approached me, Lord of the Decepticons, asking for places within our ranks. You must have no loyalty greater than that which you hold to me, and no determination greater than fulfilling my orders," the silver and gold mech said, a level of ritual coloring his words.

In unison, the three kneeling mechs spoke, "So it shall be."

Lord Megatron smiled in the night, and Rhianna felt the impact of his majesty anew. "Then welcome, Decepticon Ratchet, Decepticon Sunstreaker, Decepticon Sideswipe." With each name, he touched the named mech on the head, and they changed. Rhianna realized why it had taken so long for her to recognize Jazz as smooth curves straightened, becoming sharp angles. And on each mech, a purple Decepticon insignia appeared. "Join our fight for a new age," Lord Megatron finished.

The chorus this time included Soundwave and the cassetticons, even Rhianna knowing what came next. "All hail Lord Megatron."

The five mechs returned to the _Nemesis_ by way of one of the hidden tubes. Lord Megatron left them as they entered, trusting Soundwave to settle the new 'cons in. Soundwave quietly gave up on getting any recharge that night as he gave out the current frequencies and installed them in the 'small mech' rooms near Jazz. By the time that was all finished, the day cycle was starting. Soundwave managed to grab Jazz and ask the silver mech to finish explaining things to the three, and then the blue mech was off to the bridge to attend to his duties there. He felt a pulse of envy as he realized his cassetticons were all in recharge.

* * *

Rhianna was awakened by Soundwave's insistent contact, a kind of mental poking. Yawning, she looked outside, realizing he was standing behind Lord Megatron's chair like usual. From the angle of the dim sunlight through the water, she guessed it was around noon. /Yeah, what is it?/ she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

/Jazz wishes to take you/ Soundwave answered, sharper than normal. Blinking, Rhianna stood up and looked out the windows again, finally noticing the short mech cheerfully smiling up at her.

/Oh, I see./ Rhianna thought a moment, still waking up. /Right, right... sure./ Soundwave didn't answer her somewhat incoherent communication, simply opening and allowed Rhianna to climb onto the hand Jazz offered. Rhianna found herself looking forward to the time she didn't need a mech to help her in or out.

"I don't suppose you could stop by Soundwave's room fast, Jazz?" Rhianna asked as the bridge doors closed. "I need to refuel."

"Sure thing, Rhee'. Were you online last night?" Jazz asked, traveling down the corridors at a pretty good clip.

"Last night...? For most of it... oh! Yeah, I was up when Soundwave got the message. I fell asleep sometime around when he was uploading general procedures to Sunstreaker."

Jazz walked into Soundwave's empty room and let Rhianna jump to the desk. She hopped to the floor, grabbed some bread from the storage unit, and took less than five minutes to eat the slice. Deciding that would do well enough, she started climbing back up the desk. "So, I take it someone's asking about me?"

"Yeah," Jazz answered as she slipped onto his shoulder again. "I wouldn't say they're worried 'bout ya, but Sunny's wonderin' how you're doin' here."

"Ah," Rhianna said in an odd tone.

"Don' worry," Jazz said quietly. "If ya get stressed or anythin'... Well, I'll take ya back, no problem."

"Thank you, Jazz," Rhianna murmured. He gave a quick nod, and soon he was opening the door to his room.

Rhianna faced three pairs of red optics in faces she really didn't know. Ratchet's form had changed, and most of her time with the Twins they had been in alt form. And then Sunstreaker said, "Why didn't we ever think of giving them rides like that?" He was just like she remembered him, even better now the he was on her side. She laughed and let Jazz lower her to the ground.

"Less used to small mechs," Ratchet answered Sunstreaker.

"I'm... glad to see you all here," Rhianna said awkwardly, not sure what was expected of her.

"We just..." Sideswipe said slowly, "Wanted to talk..." He smiled, and finished quicker, "To someone other than Jazz, that is."

Rhianna nodded, then turned and made a running jump towards Jazz's desk, catching the edge with her hands. She gave a pull, and soon topped the desk, looking at the mechs with a smile. "Alrighty then. Let's talk."

The five beings spent the day talking. Starting with how Rhianna came to be with Soundwave, they moved on to Ratchet's decision, which entwined with the Twins. From there it was only natural that Jazz share his story. That led into a comparison of Autobot and Decepticon procedures, which sent Rhianna into a disinterested daze. It took a moment for them to realize when the door opened.

Rhianna reacted first, giving a happy smile with nothing dark in her eyes. She relaxed utterly, the first time the new Decepticons realized she had even been tense. "Soundwave," she greeted.

The blue mech ducked into the already crowed room and reached a hand down. As Rhianna climbed on, Soundwave told the mechs, "You will be given assignments in the morning." Included in the statement was the unspoken suggestion that they recharge.

"G'night, all," Rhianna added before disappearing into Soundwave.

* * *

hehe... Hope you liked the defection! Please leave a review!


	15. Chapter 15

I don't own Transformers. And, sadly, we're getting close to the end... :( Good news is... I might just do a sequel. No promises, though. Anyway... Been leading up to this chapter for a while now... it was fun! Hope you enjoy, on with the fic!

* * *

"No sign of the Twins," Ironhide reported. "Or of Ratchet, sir."

"Slag," Optimus swore softly. "They must have captured him. But how did they even get out of their cells?"

Bumblebee's optics flickered in surprise. Carefully, his voice still not fully recovered, he observed, "Sir, I'm not as good with computers as Jazz was - is - was. But... sir, every sign points to the fact," he paused a moment, a faint whine coming from his throat. Optimus frowned at the yellow mech, but waited for him to continue. "Those doors were opened, from the outside."

"No person on this base would release a mech from the brig like that, Bumblebee," Optimus said slowly, sounding angry at the mere suggestion.

"But sir, the evidence-"

"I will not listen to baseless accusations," Optimus snapped. "I don't know how they did it, but somehow the Twins found a way to escape. They must have taken Ratchet before he had time to radio for help." His optics offlined and he cycled his vents. "I fear Sunstreaker has convinced his brother to join him in defecting." Optimus onlined his optics again, comforting blue gaze steadying the young scout. "Most likely the next time we see the Twins... it will be as enemies."

* * *

"Inquiry," Soundwave said, still working on the now nearly complete protoform. He was looking at Rhianna with a slight expression and open curiosity coming across the link. Shifting his gaze to include the other cassettes, he asked, "Suggestions for alt form?"

Rhianna blinked, staring at the silver form. She hadn't thought about an alt form, forgetting that the new body would even be capable of transforming. "I... um..."

Rumble laughed at his sister's confusion. "What about those... whatcha call 'em... xenomorphs? Y'seemed t'like 'em well enough."

Jerking her head back very much like a surprised cat, Rhianna's embarrassment grew even worse. "They're just things in a movie! Sure, they're cool and all, but... I mean... shouldn't I be sticking with realistic things?"

"It's perfectly realistic if you want it," Ravage answered. She was laying on her back and almost seemed to be ignoring the whole conversation.

"It's not like you're limited to only one ever," Frenzy added. "I've taken at least three alt forms since I came to this mudball."

"But you only have two forms total," Rhianna was quick to point out.

Buzzsaw tried to calm the rising storm of teasing. "That actually has nothing to do with taking a new alt form."

"So, sis, howaboutit?" Rumble asked again.

"Ah... Sure..." Rhianna agreed slowly. "I mean... it's not like I have any other ideas."

"Agreed," Soundwave intoned. Now he just had to find out what a 'xenomorph' was. Rumble would be able to tell him.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Epps?" Will Lennox asked for what had to be the hundredth time since their arrival in Washington.

Epps pulled slightly on his sleeves. "Lennox, I already told you what Ratchet said. If Optimus won't even ask a fifteen year old girl about her motives, if he won't even listen... He thought he was acting in her best interests, but sir... He wasn't even looking for the signs that any of us would have seen."

"And so now... what?" Lennox asked. He was listening to Epps, he wouldn't have been here if he wasn't.

"Maybe... what Optimus Prime thinks are our best interests... aren't." Epps didn't say anything more. He felt bad enough dragging Lennox out here, without telling any of the Autobots what they were doing.

"You know I'm making you do the talking, don't you, Epps?" Lennox muttered. The door opened, and Secretary Keller's secretary called them in.

* * *

"This is your last chance to change your mind," Lord Megatron said very seriously. He and Soundwave were kneeling on either side of Rhianna at the end of the Sanctuary Hall. "The process will destroy your human body, converting its mass into the energy needed."

Rhianna answered just as seriously, without a flick of fear. "I am sure, my Lord. I will not change my mind, now or ever."

For the first time she felt Lord Megatron's mind against her as Soundwave began weaving the link deeper and tighter. /Very well then./

The elegant silver and gold hand covered Rhianna, warmth seeping through her clothing. There was a wash of... something, against her very being, an almost gentle coaxing. She wanted to follow it, but it felt as though chains were holding her down.

The coaxing came again, harsher this time, but still she was helpless to follow it. And then the gentle wash turned razor sharp, and Rhianna screamed as she felt a chain break within her.

There was no change in Lord Megatron's stance as the girl he pinned began shrieking. He was, after all, pulling her human soul loose of her body and forming it into a physical spark. Pain was expected in such a situation. Across from him, Soundwave's optics flicked in concern, and the telepath reached to steady Rhianna's mind.

She hadn't expected it to hurt, and Rhianna realized how stupid that made her. How could she have possibly thought that this could be gentle, that her... death and rebirth could be through anything but pain. She clawed at the ground, mindlessly fighting the pain, and then a bright sensation of _presence_ shown in her mind. Even as the chains broke with a soul-aching rapidity, she knew she wasn't alone.

Lord Megatron relaxed, just for a moment, as Rhianna's body began to shimmer, fading at the edge. The most difficult part was almost finished, though Soundwave would start having a pretty rough time of it soon. With a final push of power, the Allspark shattered the last connection to the organic body, and Rhianna's wail cut off with frightening suddenness.

Fans sped up in Soundwave, trying to cool the mech. He could feel Rhianna's sudden rush of panic at existing with no body. For what seemed like hours, but took only seconds, he calmed her, doing everything he could to simply stop her from feeling, from thinking, just until she had a form.

A sudden blue light formed in Lord Megatron's hand, and he smiled. From here, the procedure was same as for any new spark called forth from the Allspark. "The protoform, Soundwave," he said quietly.

Soundwave turned and picked up the new body, offering it to Lord Megatron. It was no longer accurate to call the metal form a protoform. It was already in the alt form, black armor gleaming almost wetly in the blue light of Rhianna's spark.

Lord Megatron nodded approvingly as he looked at the form chosen. It was longer than Ravage's panther form, but far more slender. It was bipedal, with a tail as long as the main body and tipped with a deadly blade. She would be quick, made for melee fighting, and likely graceful.

Even while he mused, Lord Megatron reached out. There was no single spark chamber, not on the smaller mechs. He simply touched the spark to the form. There was a blue shock wave which rippled across the black armor, and the spark sank into the form silently.

Rhianna would have gasped, were she able. She spasmed, tail lashing blindly, as she felt herself spreading through a new form, soft bonds replacing the chains which had kept her in her human body. It was over in a second, and onlining her optics for the first time, she saw Lord Megatron smiling at her.

When she tried to speak there was only a keening, a shrill hissing cry that she ended as soon as she realized it was her voice. "You cannot speak in that form," Lord Megatron reminded her with gentle amusment.

His mind still brushed hers in the link, and Rhianna used it. /Sorry, sir./

Soundwave moved, putting her on the ground. Rhianna didn't try to move, barely able to stand. New optics sent her information on temperature and air density, while her audios could catch the faint humming coming from both the mechs, and from herself.

"We might as well make everything official before we leave here," Lord Megatron commented. "That form is fine for this."

With a start, Rhianna realized that Lord Megatron knew of the cassetticon's predilection for using their protoforms in private. And then she realized he was going to make her a Decepticon, even so soon. Carefully, hoping her new form could manage it, Rhianna knelt. The xenomorph form was not, after all, that different from the human form.

"Rhianna, you have approached me, Lord of the Decepticons, asking for a place within our ranks. You must have no loyalty greater than that which you hold to me, and no determination greater than fulfilling my orders," he said, the same words she had heard before.

/So it shall be/ Rhianna answered after only the slightest of pauses. She felt as though she had just stepped of a cliff, and found she could fly.

Lord Megatron rested his hand on her black head in a gesture of benediction. "Then welcome, Decepticon Xenocon. Join our fight for a new age." As he spoke, she felt a burning on her armor, approximately where here sternum was, the Decepticon symbol forming.

/All hail Lord Megatron/ she chorus with Soundwave. With a new name, her break from the past was complete.

Soundwave carried Xenocon from the sanctuary, knowing she was still not ready to walk. Safe in his hands with his pride ringing clear, Xenocon let herself explore her new body, holding still and simply trying to feel. There would be time enough to learn how to use it.

* * *

"Sam, I don't..." Bumblebee stopped, not sure how to word this. The human boy was looking at him curiously, head tilted to the side.

"What is it, 'Bee? You've found an excuse to keep me from the _Ark_ for the last two weeks! I just want to talk to Will, maybe play with Dew and the X-box," Sam said.

At least that was fairly easy to address. "Will isn't in the _Ark_. He and his whole team left two days after the Twins went missing."

Sam's friendly expression darkened. Bumblebee had told him what happened, and his confusion over Optimus' conclusions still bothered both the young beings. "Wh... what do you mean, they left?"

"I mean they left," Bumblebee said, a little too snappy. He softened his tone remorsefully, "They left, and the Pentagon hasn't been responding, and... And I don't know if it's safe for you to be there, Sam."

"But..." Sam cut himself off, looking at Bumblebee with concern. "Alright, 'Bee. I'll stay home. But..." He put a hand on the yellow armor, "Take care of yourself, 'Bee."

"I will, Sam," the mech said. Transforming, he drove away.

* * *

Hanging to the wall by magnets because she didn't want to leave holes with her claws, Xenocon hissed playfully at Frenzy. The current Unmaker jumped at her, but she simply ran higher up the wall before jumping over the silver mech. With meaningless chatter, Frenzy managed to catch Laserbeak, who had misjudged his angles.

With a screech, the red and black flier, now Unmaker, dived at Xenocon. :Why me?: the new cassette asked over her com, running under the desk.

:Good way to learn how to fight: Ravage answered as unruffled as always, as Xenocon ran by.

Xenocon answered with a keen as Laserbeak flew into her, knocking her tail over head. Standing, she jumped to the nearby wall. Feeling bold, she moved to the ceiling, ignoring Rumble's shout of "No fair!" She tried to land on him in retaliation, and they went down in a heap.

:Oww...:

"Slag, geroff, y'glitch," Rumble mumbled, trying futility to shift the weight. Xenocon wasn't particularly heavy, but she was incredibly awkward to move, all long lines and smooth armor.

:Door: Buzzsaw warned, a moment before the door slide open.

"Heya...oh." Jazz stood in the doorway, looking disappointed. "Any y'all seen Rhee'? She, ah, hasn't been over to visit."

:Oh slag, I forgot to visit: Xenocon muttered over the family channel.

:Gonna tell him?: Rumble asked.

Xenocon crawled off Rumble and answered, :Yeah, I was planning on it.:

:Here's his channel: Frenzy sent.

Jazz shifted nervously, afraid the cassetticon's silence meant they were angry. Then a new frequency contacted his com, a quiet feminine voice saying :Oh, Jazz, I'm sorry. I've been so busy, I totally forgot to visit sooner...:

Flickering his optics, Jazz looked down at the new cassette. He'd heard that Soundwave had made a new one, but only Lord Megatron had seen it yet. The clean, predatory lines of the black cassette were very familiar, now that he saw them. Somehow, it reminded him of... "Rhee'? 'Zat you?"

Xenocon nodded. :Yeah. Y'like it?:

"Well, I-"

Frenzy interrupted, still not happy about Jazz's presence in the Decepticon forces. "Are you coming in or is she going out?"

Xenocon answered by walking under Jazz and into the hallway. With a laugh, Jazz waved to the other cassettes and let the door close. When he looked back, he found Xenocon clinging to the wall at optic level. "Whoa, not bad, Rhee'."

:It's Xenocon now, actually: she corrected. :I've got this field generator, lets me walk on just about any surface.: She demonstrated by walking towards Jazz' room.

"Xenocon ain't as pretty as Rhianna," Jazz commented, following the metallic xenomorph.

:Lord Megatron named me when I joined the Decepticons: Xenocon answered, her flat tone coming even over the com. :I like it. I'm myself now.:

New names weren't terribly uncommon when one joined a faction, and it made sense to Jazz to change away from Rhianna's human name. He still thought Rhianna was prettier than Xenocon, but what could you do? "If you like it, it's good for you, then."

Xenocon sent a quick comm burst to the ship, requesting the door to Jazz's room be opened. In response, there was a hiss, and the two mechs walked in. Xenocon hissed when she saw the three other mechs in the room, and then she realized they were just the ex-bots.

Jazz sent her the com channel they used between themselves at the same time as he said, "Well, I found out where Rhee's been."

Three mechs looked at Jazz expectantly, and Xenocon dropped from the ceiling to the desk with a clang. :She became me: she sent proudly.

* * *

Optimus Prime looked from the Playstation to the dark metal shard he held. The last shard of the Cube, and his last hope at salvaging this situation. They had turned on him, the humans had, choosing to believe Megatron's empty words of peace over his own wise words of warning.

"Please," he muttered, a prayer. It wasn't that he wanted to create drones, sparklings little more than animals, with only the most primitive reaction responses. But even if they had turned on him, he had to protect the humans, he had to save them from themselves. "Primus, please," he begged again.

Unseen in the doorway of the Autobot's Sanctuary Hall, Bumblebee shivered as his Prime accessed the power that remained in the shard. There was a faint blue pulse, followed by a thin screeching. "Primus help us," Bumblebee whispered, turning away. He was done here.

* * *

Xenocon hissed at her larger opponent, leaning forward a little with her tail ready over her shoulder. She had a laser, replacing the inner mouth thing that 'real' xenomorphs had, but she and Jazz had agreed no blasters this time. The small cassette made the first move, hiss modulating into a screech as she lunged towards the silver mech.

Jazz dodged fluidly, sweeping out with a leg. Xenocon lept back, then darted forward again. She _knew_ she was faster than the mech, Barricade had agreed with her. She just had to learn how to use that to her advantage...

There was a loud clang, and Barricade shook his head as Xenocon was thrown out of the ring... again. "You're not _fighting_ him, Xenocon!" the black and white mech scolded as the cassette righted herself. "For Unicron's sake, what do we have to do to make you _fight_?"

:I don't _know_, okay? I'm _trying-_:

"Stop 'trying' and fraging DO," Barricade cut her off.

Xenocon's optics flashed brighter in anger at being cut off and scolded. With a loud hiss, she spun around and rushed Jazz. The wide blade of her tail caught his knee and sliced clean through some tubing. With a rumble of laughter, Jazz fought back.

* * *

So, hope you liked it... if you feel the need to see a picture of her form, check out my profile. Please leave a review!


	16. Chapter 16

This... is it. The final chapter. I'm kinda stunned at the response I've gotten... I will put up an epilogue, very, very soon, and I'm gonna start work on a sequel, but... Well, please enjoy the final chapter of Madness!

* * *

"They've all left me, Ironhide," Optimus said in a compelling tone. "They're just going to hand this world over to Megatron."

Ironhide cycled air, trying to keep his temperature down. Optimus' continuing recitation of how Earth and the war were going to the pit was doing nothing to help. "I know, sir, I know." He was loyal to Optimus, always had been... even when part of him wished he could have gone with Ratchet.

In the dim light of the _Ark_, skittering was heard, drones moving from place to place. Emotionless blue optics watched as the drones hauled more machines before Prime. Drone by drone, Optimus' army grew.

The boy didn't even look up as the blue and red semi drove by. This was Duluth, there were plenty of semis driving in and out, even semis with two trailers. He didn't pay any attention as the truck stopped. The boy only looked up from his duel screen when he heard very odd sounds, mechanical whirs and clicks. _Things_ came from the semi's two trailers, all angular and metallic with far too many delicate pointed legs.

"I am sorry," a strong voice rumbled as one of the things swarmed towards the boy. The duel screen, forgotten, slipped from his hand and cracked on the pavement. Blood joined it a moment later as the thing impaled the boy, and he fell. As eyes slowly glazed over, the voice observed, "This is a necessary sacrifice."

* * *

"Sir!" Sideswipe said, looking up from the console. Jazz and Barricade, who would normally have been watching this, were busy with Xenocon, so the red mech was filling in. "Sir, we've got Autobot signals in Duluth..." he trailed off, glancing back at the information.

"How many?" Lord Megatron asked lazily.

"Two strong signals, but... Nearly two thousand... th-this can't be right." Sideswipe knew he wasn't being clear, but the console seemed to be showing a high number of sensor ghosts.

Sideswipe repressed an instinctual shudder as Lord Megatron stood and bent over him, looking at the screen. It only took a moment for the silver and gold mech to figure out what happened, and when he spoke there was a grudging respect coloring his horror. "By Unicron, he actually used the shard. I didn't think he had it in him."

Blackout took a step forward, asking, "Sir?"

Lord Megatron answered Blackout by sending a ship-wide com. :Attention. Autobot forces attacking Duluth. Included are Optimus Prime, Ironhide, and nearly two thousand Autobot drones. Prepare to attack.:

Jazz looked up, glad that Xenocon hadn't hit him yet today. The cassette hissed inquiringly, and the silver mech motioned for the door. "Hanger bay, you should be able to catch up with Soundwave there. C'mon."

They reached the hanger bay approximately the same time the rest of the Decepticon forces did. Xenocon leapt into Soundwave, not even thinking about the way her body folded and twisted as she lodged into her niche. There was an energy in the air, an almost joyful anticipation as Lord Megatron began to address the troops.

"The drones are likely to be small. Don't underestimate them, and don't let them swarm you. Attempt to minimize human casualties," the Lord said. Nobody protested the slightly odd order, and he nodded.

The door to both docking tubes opened, and there was a great noise as the Decepticons transformed. The fliers, including Lord Megatron, went up, while Soundwave lead the ground based vehicles.

/You will focus on protecting the humans/ Soundwave informed his cassettes. /Yes, Frenzy, even you/ he added, before the mech could even say anything.

/The drones.../ Xenocon began.

/Kill them/ Soundwave answered the unasked question. /Lord Megatron will not have time in battle to free them./

Xenocon allowed herself to feel a flicker of regret. But Soundwave's word were true, and Jazz had been teaching her that she couldn't go easy in a battle just from regret. /Understood./

* * *

Lord Megatron felt a stab of disgust as he flew over the human city. The swarm of drones were still spreading from an undefined center, destruction in their wake. The humans were running, most of them, and he gave little thought to those too stupid or stubborn to save their own lives.

With the usual sequence of shifting, Lord Megatron landed, almost immediately shooting at those drones far enough from humans to avoid collateral damage. The remaining drones turned and began to attack, and with a roar he met them.

Xenocon ejected from Soundwave with Ravage right behind her. For a moment she froze as the sounds of war reached her, the scream of humans, the booming of energy cannons, and the skittering of claws against concrete and asphalt. The drones were silent as they moved, only the noise of their claws giving notice of their actions.

With a roar, Ravage jumped past Xenocon, the panther's back-cannon firing. :Stop glitching, sis, there's a battle to fight!: she commed.

A short keening cry escaped from Xenocon as she stepped forward. :Sorry, sis: she sent back. Opening her mouth with a snarl, she shot, a drone going down smoking.

"The slagging glitches!" Sunstreaker gripped, trying to brush off the three tiny drones that were clinging to him. "They're fragging my paint job!"

A blast picked one of the sharp-legged drones from the yellow mech. "Hold still," Barricade growled, taking aim again.

"Move, move, move," Ratchet muttered, making shooing motions at the family they had just rescued. They were staring sightlessly at Sunstreaker, who barely twitched as Barricade picked off another drone.

* * *

"Optimus, we got a problem!" Ironhide shouted, shooting at the three flying Seekers.

"It's working," the blue and red mech said dazedly. "They're coming... Soon, this war will be over." He looked at the car he had just brought to life, human's red blood marring the doors. "One city... is an acceptable sacrifice..."

"Optimus, SEEKERS!" Ironhide yelled, ducking.

* * *

Xenocon leapt off the building, tail demolishing the computer-drone with a jar. She turned and hissed at the human she'd just saved, and couldn't deny the thrill she got when the woman screamed "Alien!" The familiar xenomorph form frighted the woman in a way the drone hadn't, and she took off running. She was going away from the battle, so Xenocon let her go.

:Enjoying yourself?: Ravage asked, chasing down another drone. The cat was leaking oil slowly from a severed line in her hip, but it didn't seem to bother her.

:...yes: Xenocon answered with some surprise, jumping back onto the building.

Glitchrat, as Thundercracker had taken to calling the cellphone thing that had adopted him, was currently launching a valiant defense of his master's body. This would have been fine, helpful even, if said defense wasn't staged ON his body. Thundercracker snarled, trading shots with Ironhide and trying to ignore the small drones climbing over him in their battle.

"PRIME!" Lord Megatron roared, trying to get the mech's attention.

The blue and red mech stood slowly, the Cube shard dropping from his hand. "Megatron," he snarled, and for the first time there was nothing but hatred in the Prime's voice.

Lord Megatron stalked forward. Blue energon and black oil trailed over his silver and gold armor, leaking from dozens of places, but the wounds had already sealed up, the power of the Allspark healing him. "I thought you did not harm humans," he purred, picking delicately around the organic carnage that surrounded them.

"A necessary sacrifice... to save them from destruction at your hands!" the Prime answered, throwing himself at the taller mech.

Laying momentarily under Optimus, Lord Megatron sneered. "To save them from me, you destroy them yourself," he said bitingly. "And you call yourself a Prime." His words distracted Optimus, and used the chance, throwing the Prime off him.

* * *

Xenocon purred lightly, circling the park looking for any missed drones, ignoring the scrapes and few slow leaks she'd gained. Ravage was on the other side of the park, and Frenzy and Rumble stayed in the middle, 'calming' the huddled humans. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw were keeping watch from above, and reporting the flow of battle to their siblings.

A flash of green caught her optic, bright and familiar, and Xenocon stopped, purrs changing into a growl. A green drone came into view, red optics focused on her. Xenocon took aim, but didn't fire, remembering the poor half-sparked Dew machine she had met in the _Ark_. A smaller drone scuttled over a green foot, and they both looked at Xenocon passively.

:help... us...: a tentative voice asked on an open channel. :ple...se...:

Xenocon felt her optics flicker in surprise. :You... it's...:

The dew green machine flinched visibly. The x-box moved forward, slowly, cringing. :Was told... not f'ev'r...:

:It is you: she said, closing her mouth. :Come, I'll get you help.: Switching to the family channel, Xenocon alerted them to what had happened.

Soundwave acknowledged Xenocon's report and then closed the channel. The drones were almost all destroyed, only a couple small battles continuing. Ironhide had already fallen to the Seeker Trine, he was injured, but would live. The deep chromatic blue mech didn't concern himself with the few remaining battles, silently watching his Lord and the Prime. They warred with an intensity that rendered anything outside of themselves superfluous, with rage and hate and a cold determination to win. Soundwave knew, as did every other mech, that this would be the last time they would ever fight.

It was not an even fight. The Prime had fallen into madness as his carefully constructed world shattered around him. He had driven his allies from himself, always thinking they had chosen to leave him, and now he was consumed by desire, the _need_ to kill Megatron at whatever cost. His madness weakened him, robbed him of his calculated fighting skill. It seemed fittingly ironic that falling to hate would destroy the Prime.

Lord Megatron knew he had already won. Every blow that Optimus gave him, the Allspark power healed, and he used that to taunt Optimus. He ridiculed the smaller mech mercilessly, pushing him cruelly in word and deed for the sheer enjoyment of it. Optimus was a master of ignoring the cutting words, but today he responded so perfectly, so beautifully. Lord Megatron was almost reluctant to end it, even as he brushed clawed fingers against Optimus' spark and optics flared yellow. He was the Allspark, the creator of life, and it was a simple matter to reclaim that life, to unmake it. Optimus fell to the ground, a mere shell, life gone.

The watching Decepticons couldn't immediately process what had just happened. After so long at war, it seemed impossible that it could end so quickly. Lord Megatron didn't give them much time to recover, however. Ordering Ironhide, and the body, to be brought to _Nemesis_, the silver and gold mech transformed and flew away.

* * *

"'Bee?" Sam's soft question broke through the mech's thoughts. "'Bee, what's wrong?" They were in the desert, Bumblebee had driven Sam out here. Bumblebee had heard everything that Optimus or Ironhide sent, since they used the open Autobot channel.

"They're dead," Bumblebee said quietly, hollowly. "They... attacked a city." He couldn't believe the words, even as he said them. How could Optimus have fallen so low?

"Ironhide... and Optimus?" Sam asked. There was no reason to ask, there was nobody else Bumblebee could be talking about, but he asked anyway. Bumblebee had told him about Optimus' madness, about the drones...

Instead of answering, Bumblebee said, "I... am the last Autobot now." He sighed, cupped a hand around the human in his lap. Sam could say nothing to that, so he curled around the hand as much as possible.

Lord Megatron smiled a little as he spotted the small yellow mech, bright even against the desert sands. He transformed and landed a fair distance away, hopefully far enough that the mech would stay and listen instead of running. The Autobot stood, tensed, holding something protectively, but didn't run.

"Why are you here?" Bumblebee asked, failing to hide his fear. Still, Lord Megatron's respect for the Autobot went up another notch. For the way this little yellow soldier had faced him in Tyger Pax, for knowing when to leave Optimus, and now for finding the courage to speak, Lord Megatron did respect him.

"To talk," Lord Megatron answered as though it should be obvious. "You know that you are the last."

Bumblebee flinched slightly as the unforgiving voice confirmed his fear. "I will not serve you!"

"No, of course not," Lord Megatron agreed readily. "After all, you are Prime now." He smiled as the yellow 'bot flinched again, holding something against him. The human Sam, most likely.

"What are you here for?" Bumblebee asked again, tired and hurt.

A silver hand caught the sunlight as Lord Megatron motioned placatingly. "You may stay here, or go. The war is over. You needn't fear for your precious humans, even the one you hold in your hands so protectively." He smiled, "Indeed, I owe this victory to him, in a way."

Bumblebee shifted, unable to relax. "You... aren't going to hurt them...?"

"Oh, no. They will serve me much better with their civilization still intact, after all." He knew it was time to go, his troops still needed watching, especially after today's events. "I leave you with one warning. Do not hinder me. That is all I ask from you, Bumblebee Prime." With a final grin, Lord Megatron jumped up and transformed, flying away. He had a victory to oversee.

* * *

So... I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review, and I'll try to get the epilogue up tomorrow. If there's anything you want to see in a sequel, please feel free to ask! And for the love of Primus, can't I at least get ONE flame from this? :P

Anyway, I want to thank all of my reviewers, and all my anonymous fav/alerters, too. You've no idea how happy you make me!


	17. Epilogue

As promised, the epilogue. Very short, so no way was I gonna make you wait a full week for less than 300 words...

* * *

Yes, that's the end, the end of my story. Oh, stuff _happened_ after that, never doubt that. But it's no longer my story. Lord Megatron kept his word with the human government, turning Earth into Decepticon territory, the humans governing themselves under his authority. But you already know that.

Bumblebee Prime wasn't actually the last of the Autobots... Ironhide, for one, survived. They're still around, I see them from time to time... some of the new sparklings choose to follow the Prime instead of the Lord, and Lord Megatron allows it. After all, that is how it has always gone.

The Dew machine and the X-box were healed, as were the few drones who survived Duluth. They're now Decepticon Sharpshot and Decepticon Mindbuzz. Who would have guessed a half-sparked X-box would have telepathic abilities once he was healed? Not as strong as my Creator's, but Mindbuzz is formidable, especially for his size. And Sharpshot has become one of our best snipers.

I've been to worlds I could at one time only imagine, and a few that I would never have dreamed, worlds beautiful and terrible. Earth remains my favorite, and no-one begrudges me that. Jazz is as big of a flirt as ever, and Blackout loves having me over to play with Scorponok.

Life has been good. And so, as I said, that's the end of my story.


End file.
